Intervening early to curb chronic illnesses

Covid-19 has been a major preoccupation of governments and citizens the world over in the past two years. But it should not distract Singaporeans from the longer-term pandemic of chronic illnesses, of which diabetes, heart disease and hypertension are just a few key examples. Singapore leads the world in diabetes-induced kidney failure, with almost six new patients diagnosed with the condition daily. There are more than 8,500 dialysis patients here. Singaporeans also consume nearly twice the amount of sodium recommended by the World Health Organisation, which has led to more people being diagnosed with hypertension. Some 35.5 per cent were found to have the condition from July 2019 to March 2020, up from 24.2 per cent in 2017.

It is a timely move then, that sometime in the middle of next year, the Ministry of Health will start inviting residents aged 40 and above to enrol in a national programme to commit to seeing one general practitioner (GP) of their choice. To help patients stick to a consistent regime of health, positive nudges and incentives may have to be given, such as lowered healthcare insurance premiums and vouchers for watching one's diet. This is part of Healthier SG, an initiative comprising holistic upstream efforts to keep individuals healthy and drive early intervention. Detailed plans will be released in a White Paper in the fourth quarter of this year.