Criteria Used in Selection of Disease for Inclusion under Chronic Disease Management Programme

5 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the full list of selection criteria used in determining whether to include a disease under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP); and (b) what studies and public consultations does the Ministry conduct to determine if a disease fulfils the selection criteria for inclusion under the CDMP.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: CDMP was introduced to help patients manage their chronic conditions well to avoid complications in the future and reduce out-of-pocket costs through the use of MediSave. MOH regularly reviews the list of conditions covered under CDMP to meet the needs of Singaporeans, while ensuring that MediSave balances are not prematurely depleted. For example, ischaemic heart disease and pre-diabetes were most recently identified for inclusion from June 2018.

In selecting conditions for inclusion in the CDMP, the Clinical Advisory Committee (CAC) consults clinical experts from public healthcare institutions as well as the private sector and take into consideration factors such as disease prevalence, potential benefits to patients' outcomes (effectiveness of early intervention that improves quality of life and reduces complications) and the availability of evidence-based clinical guidelines for appropriate care of the condition. The review process will also consider findings and information from studies such as the Singapore Burden of Disease and medical literature. Feedback and requests from the public, medical professionals, and members of Parliament are also collated and taken into account.

The CDMP CAC will continue to review regularly the conditions to be covered under CDMP. Meanwhile, Singaporeans with difficulties managing their medical bills including those relating to conditions not covered by CDMP can approach the Medical Social Workers at public institutions for assistance.