The Singapore Family Physician

Back to issue Vol 51 No. 4 - Ageing with Vitality

Challenges Faced by Private Practice General Practitioners & Family Physicians in Light of Healthier SG: A Mixed-Methods Survey

Vee Yah Teng Vernice
Lee Zeng Qing
Ser Hui Yan Eveleen
Leroy Koh,
Doreen Tan
Wee Xue Ting
Chua Lee Lea Im Elaine
Koh Thuan Wee
Lee Yik Voon
Tan Wei Chieh Jack
The Singapore Family Physician Vol 51 No 4 - Ageing with Vitality
49 - 57
23 June 2025
0377-5305
Introduction: Singapore’s rising non-communicable diseases is expected to show an increase in multimorbid patients. We used mixed methods to gather potential challenges that private GPs/FPs might face. Methods: Five GPs were interviewed to formulate a quantitative survey. The survey was verified for face and content validity before dissemination between 3 January to 12 February 2023, to GPs in Singapore. Results: 47 complete responses were analysed. The top three DI sources were Google [63.8% (n=30)], Pharmaceutical companies [51.1% (n=24)], and MIMS [42.6% (n=20)]. Approximately 23.4 percent (n=11) deemed their current source of DI insufficient. Over 70 percent indicated that it was of “high importance” of raising public health literacy across all age groups. The largest gap identified for NEHR was “incomplete medical and medication history”. We polled for willingness-to-pay for six collaborative services. Over 60 percent were willing to subscribe to at least one service, with 27.7 percent willing to subscribe to all services. The majority were willing to pay SGD50-99 per month per service. Over 70 percent saw benefit for interim followup with patients whose medication was changed. Conclusion: The challenges identified could present as opportunities for allied health, pharmacy, and nursing in the wake of Healthier SG.