6 - The Best Bargain: Medical Options in Singapore

Summary

The analysis of the current dual health care system in Singapore reveals that people enjoy a wide variety of choices, from both modern and traditional options, while most consumers tend to be educated enough to make sound decisions based on their specific needs without feeling unduly restricted by the cost of health care. These are, briefly, the basic lines in the sketch of dual utilization of health services.

The details of the situation will be presented following the guidelines introduced in Chapter 1, that is, the discussion on Singapore will be divided into four sections. The first section will focus on the providers of health services and will discuss the available modern and traditional medical services. The second section will deal with the patterns of utilization of both types of medical services. The third section will look into the pattern of dual utilization of traditional and modern medical services. The concluding section summarizes the main findings.

Singapore, as most other Third World nations, is a land of contrasts. But what makes Singapore unique is the nature and intensity of the contrasts between East and West, tradition and modernity. The political, economic, social, and religious events of the country evolve and blend in the lives of a multiethnic population of 2.7 million people sharing as their home, an island of merely 570.4 sq. km. (or 620.2 sq. km. if one counts the main island and the offshore islets). Within the confines of this small island republic, among the Chinese majority (76 per cent of the total population), Malays (15 per cent), Indians (8 per cent), and other smaller minorities, four official languages (Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, and English) and numerous dialects are spoken; and at least three world religions are represented (Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism) in addition to Taoism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, among others.

Singaporeans enjoy the second highest gross national product (GNP) per capita in Asia after Japan, that is, S$l3,088 or about US$6,087 in 1986 (Department of Statistics, 1987: 2).