A new partnership between Changi General Hospital (CGH) and general practitioners (GP) or family doctors in the eastern part of Singapore, offers patients $50 off their bill if they get referred to CGH after visiting a GP first.
Instead of heading straight to the hospital, a patient with common medical conditions like cuts and colds is encouraged to see a partner GP first to seek treatment. The GP will then issue a referral letter to CGH if the patient’s condition is deemed serious and untreatable in the GP’s clinic.
Called GPfirst, the pilot scheme aims to reduce the number of outpatients with non-emergency conditions at CGH’s Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. To date, more than 132 GPs have joined the scheme.
A website has been created to provide more information on the scheme, including a list of the participating GP clinics and advice on treating common medical conditions.
Photo: Press conference announcing GPFirst; Changi General Hospital Facebook
