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IT MIGHT sound like a bit of a headache but Dr Loh Kok Chi makes sure his patients know what they are paying for, down to the last cent.
He lists every item on his bills, including his consultation fees and the cost of drugs.
It is a service he has been providing for 12 years at his Ang Mo Kio clinic, thanks to a computer system that costs him $150 a month in licence fees.
'Since the system is already available, why not? It is a lot easier than listing manually,' said Dr Loh.
But Dr Loh is one of few doctors doing this. A Sunday Times check of 30 clinics found only three that itemise bills. Some do not give patients even a receipt.
But this will change next April under new Ministry of Health (MOH) rules that require medical and dental clinics to itemise bills so that patients know exactly what they are paying for.
Consultation, vaccination and health screening charges will also have to be displayed at the clinics.
The Singapore Medical Association (SMA) said making medical charges transparent is important, especially now that SMA no longer gives doctors fee guidelines.
'Itemised billing can help doctors demonstrate to the patients their professional worth from the consultation fees,' said SMA spokesman Tan Sze Wee.
Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) executive director Seah Seng Choon said: 'This will enhance transparency and customers will know what they are paying for.'
Doctors told The Sunday Times that switching to itemised billing is no issue but they do expect some operational problems.
Most clinics will have to configure their IT systems while those that are not yet computerised will either have to invest in the hardware or manually list the price of each medicine on every bill.
Even with the appropriate systems, itemising bills will take up time, said doctors.
Dr Lily Aw, who runs her own practice in Pasir Ris, said: 'Patients may have to wait a little longer to get their medicines because the clinic assistant has to list down each medicine and the price on the bill.'
A GP in Kallang, who declined to be named, said he might have to hire another clinic assistant. 'It's extra administrative work which most patients don't even need. The older ones will just throw away their bill,' he said.
Parkway Shenton has been issuing itemised bills if patients ask for them since 2001. But demand has not been high, said Dr Lee Hong Huei, CEO of ParkwayHealth Primary Care Network.
Madam Halimah Yacob, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said: 'There may be some initial start-up costs to reconfigure the system or install the software but this should be seen as an investment in patient welfare and not a cost item.'
She added that it would be better for clinics to have IT systems in place now as MOH plans to share patients' medical data across the public and private hospitals and clinics in future.
Whatever the benefits, having a bill with no breakdown does not seem to bother most of the 50 patients interviewed by The Sunday Times.
Shopkeeper P.S. Tan, 25, said she trusted her doctor, who has always charged reasonable prices. 'What's the point of itemising the bill? I don't even know how much each drug usually costs.'
Engineering officer Simon Tan did not even bother asking his doctor for a receipt because his company is footing the bill.
Others, like administrator W.L. Tan, 23, think differently. She said: 'It's part of my right as a patient to receive the breakdown.'
Dr Loh said his system of billing has eased some of the strains involved in running a clinic.
'It helps me auto-generate bills to corporate clients, track patients' accounts and also makes accounting easier at the end of the year.'
Additional reporting by Shuli Sudderuddin
ndianah@sph.com.sg
mavistoh@sph.com.sg
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