Survey on informed consent published in SMJ
SMA conducted an online survey in August 2024 to gather opinions from doctors on the general principles of consent-taking. The findings have since been published in the September 2025 issue of the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ).
The survey shows that almost all respondents (96.7%) indicated that they obtained informed consent in their practice. A smaller proportion of GPs (87.6%) indicated that they do so in their practice. Almost all respondents opined that it was important to inform patients of severe but rare risks (97.2%) and material risks (99.3%) during consent-taking. In addition, 80.4% of respondents reported confidence in their ability to determine the material risks necessary to inform patients. A smaller proportion of doctors in training (69.0%) were confident that they could determine the material risks. Results also showed that 80.6% of the respondents included in their consent-taking any additional tests and procedures likely to be performed during the procedure.
The full text of the SMJ article can be found at https://bit.ly/47IFI7a.
Call for regulation of IPs
In a letter to the Straits Times Forum, SMA commented on recent questions raised in Parliament relating to the need for regulations of Integrated Shield Plans (IPs).
SMA advocated that well-considered regulatory measures could ensure that insured patients are treated in a fairer way.
The areas that SMA recommended for regulatory considerations include:
- Limiting the turnover of panel specialists.
- Mandatory disclosure of insurer-hospital arrangements, and penalties to policyholders and panel doctors for not using preferred facilities.
- Communication of changes affecting coverage or claims, including adequate notice period.
We encourage Members to read the full Forum letter published on 30 September 2025 at https://bit.ly/43x4btH.