MOH Updates Table of Surgical Procedures to Keep Pace with Medical Developments

Patients to benefit with new procedures added

1. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is updating the Table of Surgical Procedures (TOSP) to take into account a wider range of surgical procedures. The updated TOSP will take effect for patients admitted for surgeries from 1 Jan 2014 onwards.

2. The TOSP is a classification of surgical procedures into 21 tables based on their complexity, and currently covers about 1,600 procedures. The use of Medisave and MediShield claims for surgeries will take reference from the updated TOSP from 1 Jan 2014.

3. This update will increase the number of procedures under the TOSP to about 2,350 and reflect a wider range of surgical procedures, including those that are relatively new and have become more common. One example is Maze surgery for abnormal heart rhythm. Patients will be able to use their Medisave and claim from MediShield for these newly added procedures, helping to reduce their cash outlay.

4. In addition, the updated TOSP will provide finer differentiation of existing procedures to better reflect the complexity of surgical procedures. For example, total knee replacement is classified as a single procedure in the current TOSP (Table 6B), but will have three distinct procedures in the updated TOSP (Tables 6A, 6B and 6C) to distinguish the level of complexity of each procedure. Improvements in technology and surgical techniques have also changed the relative complexity of some procedures, and their TOSP classification has been adjusted to reflect this. Please refer to MOH’s website for the full list of procedures under the updated TOSP ([PDF, 719KB]).

5. This round of changes to the TOSP was reviewed in consultation with clinicians from the various surgical specialties from both the private and public sectors, and was benchmarked against international references. MOH will continue to review the TOSP regularly, taking into consideration feedback from clinicians to ensure that the TOSP keeps pace with future medical advancements.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
16 OCTOBER 2013
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