Ways to save on healthcare costs

I WOULD like to echo Dr Sng’s call ( The Star, Jan 12) to “maintain the same two-tiered healthcare system with further fine-tuning, collaboration and integration.”

One of the areas where there could be sharing of information between the public and private sector is investigative tests and x-rays.

In our open healthcare system, patients move freely between the public and private healthcare services.

When a patient from a public hospital consults a private doctor, he often comes without test results or X-rays which are supposed to be property of the Government, unless the busy government medical officer is kind enough to write them a referral letter or medical report.

Often, the private hospital doctor has to resort to repeating the tests.

This is a waste of time, patient’s money, hospital resources and, in the case of X-rays, may expose the patient to further radiation.

Letting patients keep their own X-rays also frees up valuable storage space in hospitals and empowers patients to take responsibility over their illness. X-rays archived in hospital storage rooms are of no use to anyone.

Medication is another area where there could be shared care of patients between public and private healthcare services.

Doctors in public services have to stick to the government drug formulary and use generic drugs where possible.

On the other hand, doctors in private healthcare facilities are free to use more sophisticated medicines.

If a private doctor chooses to add another drug to fine-tune the treatment of a patient who gets the bulk of his medicines from general hospitals, he should then write a letter to the government doctor explaining his rationale for doing so.

Sadly, I have had patients who have been told by “black sheep” government medical officers that “if you are rich enough to see a private doctor, then don’t come back and see us.”

Not surprisingly, some patients choose to remain silent about their consultations in private hospitals, take the medicines provided by KKM but not use it. This is another huge area of wastage.

Doctors from public and private healthcare services should work together and communicate with one another for the benefit of patients.

Private hospital doctors, please remember that you were once a junior doctor in a government hospital too.

And government hospital doctors, please bear in mind that one day you may end up on the other side of the fence in the private sector.

DR CHUAH SEONG YORK Malacca