While I am certainly not an expert on Singapore's health care system (check out this article, or if you're really interested, read this book, to find out what the experts have to say), I do have a few observations based on my experiences over the last year--normal well-baby and not-so-well baby visits for Caleb over the last year, "shopping" for the right OB doctor to oversee my prenatal care, and giving birth to Annabelle.
One of the reasons I was open to moving to Singapore was the statistic I had read that Singapore had one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world (update: as of 2008, it has THE lowest), much lower, in fact, that the US. So, while I didn't know much about Singapore, I was guessing that the medical care here was at least comparable, if not superior, to the care I could get in California. I have not been disappointed.
Singapore has a very healthy (pardon the pun) and extensive public health care system, however, because we have private insurance through our employer, we have not needed to access the public health care system. My observations are limited to the private health care system and a few visits to Hawker Doctors, which I will talk about next.
(To be continued. . . )
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Here is another interesting observation about their health care system, based on my personal experience.
When I called the hospital to confirm you were in that location before sending flowers, the nurse on your floor VOLUNTEERED your home address, husband's current whereabouts ("he's sleeping in her room with her"), Annabelle's location, your nursing and pain status, and room number. All this without any proof of who I was!
That would NEVER happen in the U.S. with our stringent privacy laws.
Personally, I think our laws go too far. I can't even call our family doctor and ask for a prescription refill for Rick without him getting on the phone and "okaying" it!
The nurse in Singapore was so friendly. And, I suspect, with their stringent criminal laws, it's a rare thing for a baby to be kidnapped in a hospital.
We seem to have it backwards here!
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