Ministry of Health: More Chronic diseases and dental procedures covered under the Primary Care Partnership Scheme

According to Singapore Ministry of Health - From 1 April 2011, the Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS) will be extended to cover five more chronic diseases:

• Stroke, Asthma
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Schizophrenia and Major Depression.

With this, all diseases currently included in the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) will be covered under PCPS as well. By the end of the year, when we expand Medisave to cover bi-polar disorder and dementia under the CDMP, they will similarly be covered under PCPS.

In addition to the five chronic diseases, two relatively complex dental procedures - root canal treatment and crowning - will also be covered under PCPS.

An estimated 8,000 more elderly Singaporeans are expected to benefit from these extensions.

Under the PCPS scheme, needy elderly patients and those on the public assistance scheme can receive subsidised outpatient care through their neighbourhood GPs or dental clinics. This will make it more convenient for elderly patients who may have difficulty travelling far to receive affordable primary care nearer their homes.

There are currently about 32,100 PCPS card holders. In 2010, GPs provided more than 70,000 clinic attendances for these patients (59,500 for acute medical condition, and 10,550 for chronic disease management) while partnering dentists provided about 14,400 clinic attendances for dental treatments.  In total, patients received about $2.5 million in subsidies under this scheme for their medical and dental expenses.