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Ministry of Health
Parliamentary QA

REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT OF ADVANCE MEDICAL DIRECTIVES

7 April 2026

NOTICE PAPER NO. 644

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 07 APRIL 2026


Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Kuah Boon Theng

Nominated MP


Question No. 1776

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) how many Advance Medical Directives (AMDs) have been registered to date; and (b) to make it easier to sign an AMD, whether the Ministry will consider removing the requirement that AMDs must always be signed before a doctor, even when there are no concerns that the individual may lack mental capacity.

Question No. 1777

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health whether the Ministry will reassess the need to continue prohibiting doctors from asking their patients if they have an AMD, especially as the Registrar of AMDs is contactable during office or clinic hours, and doctors may otherwise experience difficulties ascertaining their patient’s AMD status if the certification of terminal illness occurs after the Registrar's regular office hours.


Answer

1        As of Feb 2026, more than 84,500 individuals have signed the Advance Medical Directive (AMD). The decision to make an AMD must be taken seriously as it is a legal document stating that an individual does not want to use any life-sustaining treatment to prolong his life, in the event that he is terminally ill, unconscious or requires life-sustaining treatment. Hence, safeguards are in place to protect the interests of individuals. For example, a witnessing doctor ensures that the individual understands the medical implications of making an AMD, is not being coerced and is of sound mind.

2        Strict confidentiality of AMDs are maintained to ensure that the knowledge of an AMD does not inappropriately influence treatment decisions before a patient is certified terminally ill. We have established operational processes to ensure that AMD search requests made by doctors receive prompt attention, including after regular office hours.