While public healthcare institutions do not make a profit on the drugs they prescribe, could the Health Ministry clarify if this also applies to the medical procedures carried out in the hospitals (No profit margins on drugs sold in public hospitals: Gan; March 10)?

For example, I understand that a positron emission tomography (PET) scan at Singapore General Hospital would cost a non-subsidised patient around $3,000, whereas undergoing one in a private hospital costs about $1,600.

Maybe it is time for the MOH to compile a list of the non-subsidised cost of procedures - CT scans, MRIs and so on - and publish it on its website for patients to compare.

David Soh Poh Huat