Diabetes Cases Referred from Public Healthcare System to Private Doctors

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1392
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 4 OCTOBER 2022

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms He Ting Ru
MP for Sengkang GRC

Question No. 3527

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in each of the last five years, how many diabetes cases are referred from the public healthcare system to private general practitioners; and (b) what impact is this having on caseloads for general practitioners.

Written Answer

Hospitals do not routinely track referrals to private general practitioners by diagnosis. Nevertheless, since 2018, some private general practitioners have organised themselves into Primary Care Networks (PCN) to provide more holistic and team-based care and take on patients previously attended to by hospitals. Based on available information from public acute hospitals, about 10-20% of diabetic patients seen in these hospitals are referred to primary care doctors between 2018 to 2021.

With Healthier SG, more patients with chronic diseases including diabetes will be treated in GP clinics and we expect caseloads to continue increasing.