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Singapore. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has launched a community screening program to detect key chronic ailments and cancers. It is targeted at the needy elderly.

Not only will the screenings be made more accessible to seniors, but they will also be more affordable — at $2 in total to test for diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and obesity. This screening will cost $30 at private clinics.

The program kicked off in the Whampoa neighborhood yesterday, with 150 residents registering to be screened at the one-day event.

The HPB plans to run the programme at 87 sites that will cover all the constituencies over the next three years.

Besides the chronic conditions, participants can also be tested for three cancers — cervical, breast and colorectal. Screenings for cervical and breast cancer cost $10 and $30 respectively, while the test for colorectal cancer is free.

To make it even easier for residents, the HPB launched a new initiative to help patients receive the necessary follow-ups.

Known as the General Practitioner Network, residents are encouraged to nominate a GP near their home to be their primary-care physician.

Results from the screening will be automatically sent to the nominated physician, who can then call patients in for a consultation if necessary. This will ensure that everyone with abnormal screening results will have a follow-up with a GP.

Having a single primary-care physician will enable patients to develop long-term relationships with their physicians, and help doctors better understand their patients’ medical histories and conditions.

HPB chief executive Ang Hak Seng said the agency found that the key barriers to going for screening and follow-up consultations are cost and convenience.

The solution is a one-stop screening service at a subsidized rate, which the HPB has worked out with partners in the public and private sectors. Residents over the age of 50 have to pre-register for the screening.

Philip Koh, deputy medical director of Healthway Medical Group and a GP participating in the network, said: “In the initial stages, there are often no signs or symptoms for many chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure. By linking GPs to the community, we can help increase prevention at a primary level and catch these ‘silent problems’ quickly.”

Whampoa is the first area with this community screening programme and the GP network. Nine doctors have joined the program there so far.

Those who missed the screening yesterday can go to People’s Association Wellness Centres located around the island. Prices for the chronic diseases test will be between $2 and $5.

At a separate health event yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said it was important to step up prevention and management of chronic diseases as Singapore’s population ages.

“We encourage Singaporeans to go for health screenings, especially those with a family history of illnesses. They should consult their doctor [as to] when would be an appropriate age to go for a specific screening. It is important for us to ensure that the screening is appropriate for them because we also do not want to have over-consumption of the various health-care tests,” he said.

The HPB is also in the process of developing a software, the Physical Activity Advice Tool, to help doctors recommend exercises to their patients according to factors such as their age and any pre-existing illnesses.

Patients only have to answer a series of questions, and a report will be generated suggesting the types of suitable activities for them.

The software is available to the nine GPs on the programme, but the HPB hopes to roll it out to all GPs within the next two years.

Health Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) member Fatimah Lateef called the initiative a welcome move.

“While health-care screenings have previously been conducted by various voluntary welfare organizations, it is good that the HPB is now spearheading the project. This will allow for a more comprehensive package and standardised tests across the board,” she said.

“The GP Network is also a good platform to push for the idea of one family physician for every Singaporean. This allows continuity and better monitoring of a patient’s condition,” she added.

Health GPC chairman Lam Pin Min suggested a more holistic approach with complementary health-care talks, as many people are still defaulting on the necessary follow-ups.

The talks will “inform the elderly about the benefit of getting early treatment and the catastrophic consequences of delaying follow-up treatment,” he said.

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.