Dr Wong Chiang Yin
President 47th
SMA Council
Singapore Medical Association
2 College Road Level 2
Alumni Medical Centre
Singapore 169850
Dear Dr Wong
Withdrawal of Singapore Medical Association Guideline on Fees
I refer to your letter of 10 April 2007 addressed to the Chairman of the Competition Commission of Singapore ("CCS").
2. CCS will not issue guidelines on over -charging as this would constitute another form of fee guidelines. Instead CCS would encourage bodies such as SMA to collect information on fees charged and have this information widely available so that the public is aware of the range of fees charged. This would enable the public to know where a particular doctor's fee stands in relation to the fees charged in the market.
3. The CCS has agreed that it would help work with CASE to review the complaints that it may receive on doctors' fees. CCS would take action only if the provisions of the Competition Act are violated.
Yours sincerely
Ong Beng Lee
Chief Executive
cc PS (Health) Ms Yong Ying-I
Prof K Satkunanantham, Director of Medical Services
Prof Raj Nambiar, President, Singapore Medical Council