The pertinent questions raised by Straits Times senior health correspondent Salma Khalik (More clarity needed on polyclinic referrals and accessing subsidised care, Jan 16) can help the public to navigate the increasingly expensive healthcare system that they have no choice but to enter at some point in their lives.

But I feel that it will be difficult to cover all of the possible questions and scenarios a patient may face during hospital treatment. Even if that is achieved, new questions and scenarios will arise given the fast pace of change in medicine.

Therefore, I urge the Ministry of Health to continually remind all public healthcare workers to do what's best for patients. This should be not only medically, but also financially.

The Mayo Clinic in the United States is an example of a hospital that espouses this philosophy, with its primary value of "the needs of the patient come first".

Singapore already has a hospital - Singapore General Hospital - ranked third-best in the world by Newsweek magazine last year. Surely this ideal is not too high for all public restructured hospitals to aim for.

Lau Wai Leong