Working as a doctor in Singapore is an excellent career choice. Singapore has a world-class healthcare system that is being reviewed as a model by the Obama administration's healthcare team as it explores ways to reform the US healthcare system. In 2000, Singapore's healthcare system was ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the best in Asia - ahead of Hong Kong and Japan. In 2003, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) ranked Singapore healthcare as third best in the world. Currently, Singapore hosts 12 hospitals and medical facilities that are accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), thus accounting for one-third of all JCI-accredited medical institutions in Asia. In general, any type of medical treatment that you may require is available in Singapore at a reasonable cost and very good quality of service.
Singapore provides the complete spectrum of medical services from primary care, to health screening, to quaternary care services such as organ transplants. In general, the pay and conditions for doctors are excellent.
Government healthcare facilities are primarily designed to provide subsidised healthcare services to Singaporeans. These facilities consist of a number of government hospitals for inpatient services and numerous polyclinics offering outpatient services. Although wholly owned by the government, the public sector hospitals are operated as private limited companies in order to compete with the private sector on service and quality. They are a far cry from what is generally known as a “government hospital” in other countries. Government healthcare facilities not only provide very good healthcare services to masses but also handle the most complicated cases referred from other hospitals and neighboring countries.
The Government health system also sets the benchmark for the private sector on professional medical standards and fees. Specifically, the government influence most long-term trends such as the supply of hospital beds, the introduction of high-tech/high-cost medicine, and the rate of cost increases in the public sector which sets the bench mark in terms of pricing for the private sector. Charges in public health services are subsidised by the government while in the private hospitals and outpatient clinics, patients pay the amount charged by the hospitals and doctors on a fee-for-service basis.
Public healthcare facilities are divided into 6 broad clusters. These clusters were made to foster vertical integration of services, enhance synergy and economies of scale in-line with the government's aim to spur innovation and improve the quality of healthcare while keeping medical costs affordable. Hospitals and specialty centres are run as private companies but remain wholly-owned by the government.
Private healthcare facilities in Singapore are as good as any in the world with excellent level of medical care and service levels. For non-Singaporeans, the difference in cost between government and private healthcare facilities is negligible as they directly compete with each other. Since private healthcare facilities in general offer better service level and minimum waiting times, most of the expatriates living in Singapore (as well as medical tourists from abroad) prefer to visit a private healthcare facility.
Private healthcare facilities consist of numerous private clinics offering outpatient services as well as private hospitals. Majority of the private hospitals are JCI-accredited.
Foreign patients come to Singapore for a broad range of specialist care including Cardiology, Gynaecology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Oncology, Urology, Neurosurgery, besides General Surgery and General Medicine.
Singapore has the solid fundamentals of a regional healthcare hub with its reputation for clinical excellence, highly-trained medical workers, regulated health environment, the availability of the latest medical technology and good infrastructure.
Singapore Medical Council (SMC)
Specialist Accreditation Board (SAB)
Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
Visit Singapore
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