18 December

Singapore's Polyclinics are probably the future of healthcare. The great logjam in the Australian system is actually the GP. GP practices are fairly small, don't cover a large range of health services and often act more as a referral chokepoint through to specialist and allied healthcare, and hospitals. Very little actual treatment or care can happen in a GP practice. Hospital care is prohibitively expensive everywhere in the world, good health systems minimise the need for it. A single Polyclinic focuses strongly on preventative care, is team- rather than doctor/GP-based and often occupies several floors of a building. It integrates services that would usually require four or five separate appointments in Australia. On a single visit, a patient can: See a Family Physician for a consultation. Go down the hall for an X-ray or Ultrasound. Have blood drawn at the onsite lab. Visit the onsite Pharmacy to collect medications. See a Dentist, Podiatrist, or Dietician. Polyclinics also use AI and other high-end technologies to dramatically speed the turnaround time for diagnosis and treatment, and allow a lot of in-home care. Very few Singaporeans need to enter hospital, as a result.