Fee Benchmarks for Private Sector Charges

What are Surgeon and Anaesthetist fee benchmarks?
If you are undergoing surgery in a private hospital, you should expect to pay professional fees for a surgeon and an anaesthetist (if an anaesthetist is required to provide anaesthesia during the surgery).

• The surgeon fee benchmarks cover the surgeon’s professional fees for his or her time and effort undertaken during the surgery only.


• The anaesthetist fee benchmarks cover the anaesthetist’s professional fees for providing anaesthesia in support of the surgery. This includes the pre-operative anaesthesia consultation immediately before the surgical procedure, the anaesthetic care given during the surgery, and the immediate post-operative care and monitoring in the recovery unit.

How do I use the fee benchmarks?

First, find out from your doctor what the Table of Surgical Procedure (TOSP) code is of the procedure you are undergoing. You may then search here to see if there are surgeon and anaesthetist fee benchmarks available for the TOSP code. Alternatively, you could search using key words of the procedure you are undergoing.

If your surgery is less complex, your doctor(s) may charge professional fees that are at the lower end of the fee range.

Conversely, if your procedure is more complex, your doctor(s) may charge professional fees that are at the higher end of the fee range.

However, if your surgery is unusual in its context or complexity and requires significantly more time or effort, your doctor may charge professional fees outside of the recommended fee benchmarks.
You may also download the full list of Surgeon and Anaesthetist Fee Benchmarks here:

What are Doctors’ inpatient attendance fee benchmarks?

If you are hospitalised in a private hospital for treatment, your doctor will see you in the ward for consultations or reviews during your hospital stay. Such professional consultations or reviews are known as inpatient attendances and are chargeable.

The recommended inpatient attendance fee benchmarks for office hours is for daily fees covering the routine number of visits (that is typical of the specialty) a doctor may make to see the patient within the day. This includes both the first visit and repeat visits, on the same day:

*Office hours may vary depending on the doctor’s practice, but is typically around a 9- to 10-hour cycle on weekdays (e.g. 8am to 6pm) and a 4- to 5-hour cycle on Saturdays (e.g. 8am to 1pm).

The fee range does not include costs of medications, injections, operations, special procedures, investigations (e.g. radiological and laboratory tests), etc.

The ICU fee range is applicable only to lower intensity ICU cases and not for medium to high intensity ICU cases.

How do I use the fee benchmarks?

If your doctor’s inpatient attendance is brief and straightforward, he or she may charge a professional fee that is at the lower end of the fee benchmark.

If the inpatient attendance requires more of your doctor’s time and expertise, he or she may charge a professional fee that is at the higher end of the fee benchmark.

Charges that are higher than the benchmarks may not be unreasonable, particularly where a case is unusual in its context or complexity and require significantly more time or effort.

Do the doctors’ inpatient attendance fee benchmarks apply to after-office hours?

A doctor may sometimes be required to see a patient in the ward outside of his usual office hours. In such cases, the fee benchmarks for after-office hours would apply.

The fee ranges for after-office hours are for each visit a doctor may make, on top of the day’s routine consultations or reviews during office hours.

^Usually refers to visits where a doctor is called back on top of the routine consultations or reviews during office hours.

The full list of explanatory notes on doctors’ inpatient attendance fee benchmarks can be found here: