SPEECH BY DR AMY KHOR, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES & MINISTRY OF HEALTH, AT THE PUBLIC FREE CLINIC SOCIETY 45 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, 3 NOVEMBER 2019, 2.15PM AT PUBLIC FREE CLINIC SOCIETY

Mr Seow Ser Fatt, President of Public Free Clinic Society

Board of Committee Members of Public Free Clinic Society

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Good afternoon. I am happy and honoured to join all of you again this year in celebration of Public Free Clinic Society’s (PFCS) 45 th anniversary. For the past 45 years, PFCS has remained steadfast in its philosophy of offering affordable and good quality Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services to low-income families, regardless of race or religion. I hope that PFCS will continue its commendable efforts in helping the less fortunate.

2. TCM has a long history in health promotion and illness prevention. As Singapore faces the challenge of an ageing population and increasing chronic disease prevalence, TCM can continue to play an important complementary role in our healthcare system. PFCS, for instance, started a Geriatrics TCM Treatment Centre in 2017, to focus on the treatment of common old-age related conditions. The Centre is well-received by the public and attends to more than 2,000 patients each month.

3. Other than clinical initiatives like the Geriatrics TCM Treatment Centre to provide better healthcare, I am happy to know that PFCS is in the process of upgrading its e-clinical
system for better client management. PCFS’ efforts to digitalise medical records is a step in the right direction that TCM service providers should adopt going forward. For this, the MOH TCM Development Grant launched in 2018 supports TCM clinics that are currently still on pen-and-paper records to adopt patient management system. Eligible clinics can claim up to 50% of approved costs for both the software and accompanying hardware purchases, capped at $20,000 and $5,000 respectively. To date, 10 clinics have benefited from this initiative. Through digitalisation, they have improved operational efficiency and accuracy in areas such as retrieving and maintaining patient records, dispensary inventory management, and keeping track of clinic sales etc. We hope more will tap on this to leverage the benefits of digitalisation.

4. With the implementation of compulsory TCM continuing professional education (CPE) next year, I also encourage accredited TCM CPE training providers to provide opportunities for TCM practitioners (TCMPs) to acquire basic knowledge in clinical research. With increased clinical research literacy, more TCMPs would be better positioned to collaborate with public healthcare institutions to carry out more TCM research that is necessary for the sustained development of TCM in the future.

5. It is important for TCMPs to take ownership of their professional upgrading. Other than improving core TCM knowledge and skills, it is also important to be aware and kept up-to-date with basic but essential medical knowledge so that TCMPs know when and how best TCM could complement patients’ treatments for the best outcome. To provide more convenience and meaningful learning experience, the TCMP Board is working with TCM CPE training providers to roll out new training platforms and formats, such as online courses, clinical mentorship programmes and clinical case study discussions, bringing learning beyond the traditional classroom or conference setting.

6. I believe most TCMPs uphold high professional standards in their practice and have their patients’ best interest. However, there may be occasions when TCMPs are subjected to complaints and litigations. Hence, I would also like to take this opportunity to strongly encourage TCMPs to take up professional indemnity insurance or medical malpractice insurance, if you have not already done so. I am glad to know that PFCS has all their TCMPs, including volunteer TCMPs, covered by their group practice insurance.

7. In closing, I congratulate PFCS on your 45 th anniversary and wish you success in the
years ahead. I would also like to extend my respect to the dedicated group of volunteers and all who have helped PFCS all these years in its charitable cause. Thank you and have a good day ahead.

大众医院院长 萧士发先生
全体理事会
各位嘉宾
女士们、先生们

1. 大家下午好！我很高兴再次受邀与大家一同欢庆大众医院成立45周年。45年来，大众医院秉承一贯的“取之于民，用之于民”的精神，坚持致力于为低收入家庭，不分种族或宗教, 提供优质且负担得起的中医服务。我希望大众医院将继续为这项值得赞扬的慈善事业努力，帮助较不幸的人士。

2. 中医在养生和预防疾病方面有着悠久的历史和独特的见解。在新加坡面临着人口老龄化和慢性疾病日益普遍之际，中医在我们的医疗体系中，可继续扮演重要的辅助角色。以大众医院为例，它们在2017年开设的老年病治疗中心就着重于治疗老年人的常见疾病。据我所了解，中心受到公众的欢迎，现在每月看诊人数超过2000名患者。

3.  除了加强医疗服务如老年病治疗中心等,我很高兴得知大众医院正在提升贵院的电子临床诊疗系统，以加强病人管理。大众医院为医疗记录数码化所作的努力，是所有中医诊所应
该效仿的。为此，卫生部在2018年推出的中医药发展补助金可支持现在还在使用传统纸和笔医疗记录的中医诊所采用电子医疗管理系统。符合条件的诊所可申请高达50%的软件及相关硬件的采购费用，分别以2万元和5千元为顶限。到目前为止，已有10家诊所受惠。通过数码化，这些诊所在检索和维持病人档案、药房库存管理和维持诊所销售等方面提高了运作效率和准确性。我希望更多诊所能利用补助金来实现数码化。

4. 随着强制性中医延续教育在明年实施，我也鼓励延续教育课程的主办机构提供机会，让中医师多了解临床研究的基本知识。若对临床研究的认识能加以普及，更多的中医师将能够与公共医疗机构合作，进行更多的中医临床研究，这对中医未来的持续发展是必要的。

5. 中医师必须掌控并对自己的专业提升负责。除了提高中医的核心知识和技能，中医师也应该了解基本但重要的现代医学知识。通过这些认识，中医师将能更好地知道中医疗法在何时、能如何地配合病人的治疗，以取得最佳效果。为了提供更多便利和有意义的学习体验，中医管理委员会正在与延续教育课程的主办机构合作，推出更多元化的新学习平台，如网上课程、临床跟诊和临床个案讨论等，让学习超越传统课室教学或会议的模式。

6. 我相信，绝大部分中医师都是医术、医德兼备的良医，在行医过程中维持着高素质的专业标准和操守，也意在保护病人的利益。但是，我们不能排除中医师受到投诉和诉讼的可能。我想借此机会大力鼓励还没有投保的中医师们，购买专业责任保险或医疗事故保险。我也很高兴得知大众医院有为贵院整体医师，包括义务医师在内，购买集体保险。

7.  最后，我恭祝大众医院45周年院庆取得圆满成功，并且对一路来为大众医院慈善事业付出的义工和善长人翁表示敬意。祝大家有个美好的星期天。谢谢！