Reviews of Standard List of Drugs and Medications of Restructured Hospitals

24 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Health how frequent is the standard list of drugs and medications of restructured hospitals reviewed, especially in respect of costs and prices of brands that have become generic.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Our Standard Drug List (SDL) is reviewed annually based on assessments by the Drug Advisory Committee (DAC).

The DAC receives applications from public healthcare clinicians for additions to the SDL. In assessing these applications, the DAC may consider research evidence and consult other clinicians. The DAC is guided by three main considerations

(a) Whether the drug is essential for the treatment of medical conditions that are important causes of morbidity and mortality in Singapore;

(b) Whether the drug offers a significant improvement in terms of efficacy and effectiveness, as compared to existing drugs in the SDL; and

(c) Whether there is sufficient evidence of long-term safety and cost-effectiveness of using the drug.

Our public healthcare institutions procure generic versions of the drugs where available. As generic drugs are generally cheaper, patients prescribed these generic drugs would benefit from the lower costs.