Tracking of Over-prescription of Medicine and Guidelines for Prescription Quantities

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry is keeping track of over-prescription of medicine in terms of quantity that can lead to cost inflation and wastage; and (b) whether the Ministry is providing guidelines for prescription quantities.

While the Ministry does not specifically track over-prescription of medication, there are measures in place to minimise excessive provision of medication.

Depending on a patient's condition, doctors generally prescribe a supply of medication till the patient’s next appointment date. The supply of medication is normally set at no more than three months for normal medication and no more than six months for more stable chronic illnesses. For newly prescribed medications, public healthcare institutions encourage patients to collect a shorter duration of medication to prevent wastage, as the medication may be unsuitable.

Public healthcare hospitals also carry out medication reconciliation prior to a patient's discharge. This is a process of creating a consolidated list of all medications a patient is taking and reconciling them where appropriate. It helps to reduce potential adverse effects arising from medication interactions and reduce unnecessary drugs. Dispensing pharmacists also review the patient's medication to eliminate unnecessary or excessive supply of medication.

Beyond the public healthcare institutions, the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore also holds regular public education events to encourage patients not to over collect medications.