The Ministry of Health (MOH) will place
tuberculosis (TB) under the Sixth Schedule of the Infectious
Diseases Act (IDA) with effect from 1 December 2008, This will
further strengthen public health measures against the spread of the
disease, especially amongst air travellers...
There were 700[2]new cases of TB
notified among Singapore residents in the first 6 months of 2008, as
compared to 1,256 cases last year. The projected incidence of TB in
2008 is 38.4 per 100,000, which is higher than the 35.1 per 100,000
in 2007...
From 1 January 2008, all dental schools
accredited by the American Dental Association and the Canadian Dental
Association will be added to the Schedule of the Dental Registration
Act.
The addition of 48 American dental schools
and 7 Canadian dental schools will increase the number of recognised
foreign dental schools in the Schedule from the current 34 to 89. The
list of new and current dental schools can be found in Annex A...
From January 1, 2008, non-PR foreigners will
not receive any healthcare subsidy. PRs will continue to be subsidised
for hospital services, but at 5 percentage points less than citizens.
From July 1, 2008, another 5
percentage-point reduction will be applied...
MOH and theAgri-Food & Veterinary Authority
(AVA) conducted joint inspections of Prima Food Pte Ltd which produces
the chocolate cakes for all Prima Deli retail outlets.
Food and environmental samples were taken
for laboratory analysis. Preliminary results on 03 December 2007 for the
food samples are suggestive of Salmonella as the likely causative agent...
As at 03 December 2007, there were a total
of 106 cases including six hospitalised cases, all of whom have been
discharged. Six cases tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis. The
last case had onset of illness on 26 November 2007.
Out of the164
Singaporeans detected to be HIV infected in the first six months, about
93% of the new cases detected this year were males and 7% were females.
Sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV
transmission among Singaporeans. Of the 164 cases reported in the first
6 months of 2007, 155 cases acquired the infection through the sexual
route, with heterosexual transmission accounting for 67% of infections,
homosexual transmission 24% and bisexual transmission 3%. Intravenous
drug use (4 cases) accounted for 2%...
HSA is adopting a phased approach in
implementing the new regulations to minimise the impact to the
supply of medical devices and to provide sufficient time for the
industry to meet the new standards and requirements. The control
measures will be implemented in three phases, starting from 1
November 2007:..
Therefore, we propose to amend the IDA to
empower the Director of Medical Services (DMS) to obtain left-over
samples, and send them for the tests and examinations for the purpose of
monitoring the infectious disease situation in Singapore...
The Ministry proposes to expand the IDA to
empower DMS to close any premises as non-food establishments may also be
the source of an outbreak...
We propose to amend the IDA so that when
required, the DMS may require medical practitioners as well as other
categories of health care workers (e.g. TCM practitioners, dentists,
pharmacists, etc.) to obtain disease related information from their
patients...
MOH proposes to expand the IDA to
address the situation where an individual who, although unaware
that he is HIV-positive, has reason to believe that he has been
exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or AIDS (e.g. by having
unprotected casual sex with multiple partners)...
The Ministry of Health and the Singapore
Medical Council (SMC) will be including an additional 19 leading
international medical schools to the Schedule of the Medical
Registration Act with effect from 1st October 2007...
Included are 6 medical schools from China, 4
from India, 4 from Japan, 2 from Taiwan and 1 from South Korea. 2 more
medical schools from Europe have also been added...
Singaporeans graduating from any of the 159
international medical schools can also come back to Singapore, to
supplement the number graduating from our own medical schools...
"As of 1 Aug 2007, the Ministry of Health (MOH)
is allowing HIV testing with rapid HIV test kits to be offered in
medical clinics. Rapid HIV tests are screening tests that produce very
quick results, in approximately 20 minutes...
"Rapid HIV testing can only be conducted in a medical clinic by trained
clinic personnel, and only clinics which have participated in an MOH
training workshop on Rapid HIV Testing are allowed to offer rapid HIV
testing..."
"We support the stand that personal
information identifiable to an individual participating in human
biomedical research should be safeguarded.
"Proper rules governing the access and use of
personal information and a secure system of information protection would
re-assure research subjects on the confidentiality of personal
information.
"In this connection, MOH is drafting a
National Disease Registry Bill to provide an overarching legal framework
for the collection of epidemiological information on key diseases for
public health policy and planning purposes..."
"A higher
subsidy of $300 will be given to patients below per
capita family income of $300 per month.
"Approximately 550 more patients will stand to benefit
from the revised scheme. The new framework will apply
to new patients who seek dialysis treatment at the
VWOs..."
"Right now, it is one Singaporean,
multiple medical records, stored away in different clinics and
hospitals in different formats, and not connected or consolidated.
As a result, when patients visit different doctors, they have to
have tests repeated and scans redone. This adds to unnecessary
cost.
"We are moving towards this target of
'One Singaporean, One EMR'. Because of legacy systems, we cannot
achieve it in one step. But we have made progress...
"However, this is a complex national
project - very few if any countries have successfully implemented
a system that links up public, private and the charity sector..."
"MediShield coverage among active
workers is not bad, at 90%. But 390,000 Singaporeans below 20
years of age are not insured. The premium at their age is
inexpensive, only $30 per year.
"And
young parents can use their Baby Bonus to pay the
premium. So cost is not the issue...
"We will introduce an
opt-out scheme for infants to be automatically covered
under MediShield from the time their births are
registered.
"Premiums can be deducted
from their fathers' Medisave or alternatively their
mothers'. Parents who do not want such coverage can
opt out any time by informing the CPF Board. We will
get this done later this year..."
"The heaviest patient attendances were
seen at Ang Mo Kio (27,041) and Jurong (24,275), more than double
the volumes seen at polyclinics such as Queenstown (9,345), Marine
Parade (10,393) and Outram Polyclinics (10,550) - the lowest in
attendances among polyclinics..."
"From October 2007, PRs will
continue to be subsidised for hospital services, but at 5
percentage-points less than Singapore citizens.
"From October 2008, another 5
percentage-point reduction will be applied. This way, Singapore
citizens will enjoy greater subsidy than PRs, by a total of 10
percentage- points.
"As for the other foreigners, there
will be no more healthcare subsidy from October 2007..."
"MOH has investigated into the Ang Mo Kio
Secondary School outbreak which occurred on 25-28 Sep and established
the cause as norovirus gastroenteritis. Investigations into the cause of
outbreak at Stamford Primary School are still in progress although
norovirus has also been identified.
"As at Friday, 6 Oct, two other schools [ACS(I)
and Maris Stella (Primary)] have reported 20-30 cases of students and
staff falling ill with similar symptoms. These cases are also being
investigated to determine their cause..."
"There has been an increase in the number of
persons attending the polyclinics for acute diarrhoea over the past
three weeks...
"However, in view of the recent outbreaks of
norovirus gastroenteritis in two schools affecting a large number of
school children, the Ministry would like to advise the public to be
vigilant about diarrhoeal illnesses..."
"While some heroin addicts appeared to have
benefited from Subutex, many others seem to have merely shifted their
addiction from heroin to Subutex.
"In addition, many more who have never tried
drugs before have become new addicts. Within 4 years of introduction, we
now have at least 3800 Subutex users, 45% of them Malay, 43% Chinese and
10% Indian..."
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