Press Factors FOR Clinics
The largest percentage of Singapore’s medical expenses, at 60 per share, is the cost of labor.
And a lack of labor is pushing up pay, said Wong Soo Min, the party chief financial officer of the National University Health System, which manages NUH, AH, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and National University Polyclinics, among other medical institutions.
Drugs, products and data technology-related costs account for the remaining 40 per cent of medical expenses. ” With prices as well as higher logistics and supply chain charges, we do notice higher drug charges”, she added.
Hospitals are under pressure from higher operating expenses, but medical officials are looking into proactive cost management strategies.
One of the things they are doing is” switching from marketed to general drugs, with the same efficacy”, said Wong.
She cited two instances where the change has resulted in 20 % benefits for the patient, both cholesterol and high blood pressure medications. She continued,” And this is also reflected in the amount that the person pays.”
In terms of workforce productivity, technology provides yet another set of options. For instance, AH is testing wearable technology on beds and intelligent wards to monitor patients while using smart sensors.