Criteria to determine drugs for the Standard Drug List

20 Jul 2005

Question No:  139  

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan, MP for Hong Kah GRC

To ask the Minister for Health what are the criteria used to determine which drugs qualify for the Standard Drug List for which government subsidies apply.

Reply

Reply From MOH

The Standard Drug List (SDL) is drawn up by my Ministry, based on the recommendations of an expert committee called the Drug Advisory Committee. New drugs are regularly introduced into the market for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. Hence, the Drug Advisory Committee reviews the SDL regularly, with inputs from our clinicians. 

The Committee takes into account five key factors: (a) Whether the medical conditions are common and important causes of morbidity and mortality in Singapore; (b) Whether the drugs are essential for the treatment of these medical conditions; (c) Whether the drugs offer a major improvement in terms of efficacy and effectiveness, as compared to existing standard drugs; (d) Whether there is sufficient long term safety data pertaining to the drugs; and (e) Whether there is sufficient evidence of the drugs' cost-benefits. 

In addition, my Ministry regularly compares our SDL with international formularies such as the WHO Essential Drug List, the Australia Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme, and the US Kaiser Permanente Drug List.