When his father needed treatment for his prostate gland in 2008, property developer Yudi Rahmat Raharja found someone who could arrange for it to be done at a public hospital in Singapore.
This practice of paying foreign agents to refer patients had been going on for years at some public healthcare institutions, with agents potentially earning thousands of dollars in referral fees.The Ministry of Health issued the order after The Sunday Times published a report about the connection between hospitals such as National University , Singapore General and Changi General and these agents.
Foreign patients did not get subsidies and could be charged a premium for procedures performed by senior doctors, so agents' fees, as a percentage of the total bill, could be very lucrative. Jakarta-based hospital agent HCM Medika said that since it was established in 2007, it had facilitated medical visits for 15,000 patients to Singapore and Malaysia.
Among other hospitals, Tan Tock Seng said it did not engage such agents, while other public hospitals did not reply to queries."NUH's foremost priority is to provide care for Singaporeans," an NUH spokesman added."NUH reviews all referrals to ensure that it has the capacity, capability and resources to provide treatment that will be beneficial to the patient. Singaporeans are given priority for appointments and hospital beds.
Dr Tan Chi Chiu, chairman of the Singapore Medical Council's Medical Ethics Committee, said there is nothing wrong with public doctors treating foreigners. But foreign patients may pay more, and"doctors need to ensure that this does not set up a financial incentive" to favour such patients over subsidised ones, he said.