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Psychotherapy fees increase at SGH, CGH
04:45 AM Dec 12, 2012
by Ashley Chia
SINGAPORE - To keep pace with costs, fees for psychotherapy, a psychological treatment some doctors say is catching on in Singapore, have gone up at two public hospitals recently.
At the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), fees for the treatment doubled in October following a revision two years ago. Subsidised patients who used to pay S$23.80 for a 60-minute session now pay S$57.30 while private patients who were charged S$47.60 now pay S$126.26 for both first and subsequent visits. (140% and 166% respectively!)
Despite its "continued efforts in adopting cost-saving measures", SGH "is operating below cost-recovery", a recent internal fee review showed. Previous charges also "did not reflect the true cost of the extended professional time" a psychologist spends with the patient unlike during routine consultations with specialists which are much shorter, said SGH's Chief Financial Officer Wong Loong Kin.
"Any under-collection of revenue would mean lesser resources available to update facilities and services to sustain quality patient care," Mr Wong said, adding that SGH will continue to assist patients with financial difficulties with MediFund and other assistance schemes such as its Samaritans Funds for needy patients.
In the middle of this year, to keep with "rising costs", Changi General Hospital raised their psychotherapy fees by 25 per cent from S$25.50 to S$32 for subsidised patients and by 10 per cent for non-subsidised patients from S$77.04 to S$85.60.
The recent increases follow last November's one at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), which adjusted its charges for psychodynamic psychotherapy after an introduction of subsidies. Nonetheless, fees charged in the public hospitals are still lower than the private sector. For example, Raffles Hospital charges between S$220 and S$400 for each consultation while Dr BL Lim Centre For Psychological Wellness charges S$85 every 15 minutes.
IMH Senior Consultant and Director of Psychotherapy Service Gwee Kok Peng also noted a "gradual growth" in the number of people seeking the treatment, including those without psychiatric disorders, for reasons ranging from "the practical to the existential and self actualising".
Centre for Psychotherapy's Executive Director and Counselling Psychologist Nisha Rani has also seen a 50-per-cent increase in the number of walk-in patients in the past six months.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC121212-0000013/Psychotherapy-fees-increase-at-SGH,-CGH
04:45 AM Dec 12, 2012
by Ashley Chia
SINGAPORE - To keep pace with costs, fees for psychotherapy, a psychological treatment some doctors say is catching on in Singapore, have gone up at two public hospitals recently.
At the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), fees for the treatment doubled in October following a revision two years ago. Subsidised patients who used to pay S$23.80 for a 60-minute session now pay S$57.30 while private patients who were charged S$47.60 now pay S$126.26 for both first and subsequent visits. (140% and 166% respectively!)
Despite its "continued efforts in adopting cost-saving measures", SGH "is operating below cost-recovery", a recent internal fee review showed. Previous charges also "did not reflect the true cost of the extended professional time" a psychologist spends with the patient unlike during routine consultations with specialists which are much shorter, said SGH's Chief Financial Officer Wong Loong Kin.
"Any under-collection of revenue would mean lesser resources available to update facilities and services to sustain quality patient care," Mr Wong said, adding that SGH will continue to assist patients with financial difficulties with MediFund and other assistance schemes such as its Samaritans Funds for needy patients.
In the middle of this year, to keep with "rising costs", Changi General Hospital raised their psychotherapy fees by 25 per cent from S$25.50 to S$32 for subsidised patients and by 10 per cent for non-subsidised patients from S$77.04 to S$85.60.
The recent increases follow last November's one at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), which adjusted its charges for psychodynamic psychotherapy after an introduction of subsidies. Nonetheless, fees charged in the public hospitals are still lower than the private sector. For example, Raffles Hospital charges between S$220 and S$400 for each consultation while Dr BL Lim Centre For Psychological Wellness charges S$85 every 15 minutes.
IMH Senior Consultant and Director of Psychotherapy Service Gwee Kok Peng also noted a "gradual growth" in the number of people seeking the treatment, including those without psychiatric disorders, for reasons ranging from "the practical to the existential and self actualising".
Centre for Psychotherapy's Executive Director and Counselling Psychologist Nisha Rani has also seen a 50-per-cent increase in the number of walk-in patients in the past six months.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC121212-0000013/Psychotherapy-fees-increase-at-SGH,-CGH
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