Confidentiality of medical records

While the public is often told that medical records are kept confidential, the number of doctors, nurses and medical students accessing the records freely makes such assurances doubtful.

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_568923.html

My views

It is difficult to keep medical records confidential, when they are paper based. If the medical records are kept in electronic format, it is possible for the patient to mark certain records as "private" so that it cannot be seen by other health care providers. Furthermore, it is easy to trace who has accessed the record and if the access is for a valid purpose.

Competition and Medical Fees

This survey was carried out on the ruling by the Competition Commission against the medical fee guidelines issued by the Singapore Medical Association. 95% of the 40 respondents prefer to have the guidelines in place.
Read www.tankinlian.com/information.aspx (search for Competition and Medical Fees).

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=152

Educational talks by FISCA

Click here for the two educational talks organised by FISCA in August 2010:
http://www.fisca.sg/events

Investing for the Long Term - 21 August
Financial Planning - A Practical Approach - 28 August

I am giving the talk on 28 August. If you wish to ask questions to me, please register and attend the talk. Spend $30 and the time to be educated. It is for your own good. Do not wait to have a problem and ask for help at that time. You get a free copy of the book, "Practical Guide on Financial Planning".

Property Bubble

According to this article, the property market in Singapore is a bubble, and is the worst in the world. This is measured by the ratio of property value to rent. The property prices are at least 20% over-valued, according to this criteria.

My view
I agree with the assessment. Our property prices are too high, due to temporary factors (i.e. the sudden increase in population) and the low interest rate. This cannot be sustained over the long term.

Nomination under Dependent Protection Scheme

Hi Mr Tan,
My father had passed away recently due to an heart attack. I  received a letter which stated that he had nominated his children from Malaysia (from a previous marriage) for the proceeds. He left nothing to my mother who is the legally married wife. 


Can my mother dispute the nomination as this scheme was intended to help the families tide over the first few years in the event of death? My mother had to bear the funeral and other expenses relating to the estate. Can she claim for the DPS even though she was not a nominee? If she was not able to claim from DPS, can she just ignore the pending settlements and issues in Singapore?

REPLY
It is best to talk to the nominees and ask them to settle the expenses out of the proceeds. Your mother can ignore the expenses, if she had not legally contracted to pay for them.

Invest in foreign currency [2]

Before you invest in foreign currency, e.g. fixed deposit, you should consider the cost of conversion and exchange risk. Read "invest in foregn currency" in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx.

Invest in bonds [2]

In the uncertain global economic situation, many people stay away from stocks. However, interest rate on bank deposits is too low. An alternative is to invest in government and corporate bonds. Read "invest in bonds" in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx.

Marketing flyers and junk mail

Is there a solution to the marketing flyers and junk mail that clogs up your mailbox? Here is one solution.

FISCA VP for media relations

FISCA wishes to look for a volunteer to head its media relations and publicity. If you are interested to volunteers, please reply here.

Need for stronger regulation for insurance

In many countries, the regulator is active in protecting the interest of consumers of insurance services. Read this document. There is a need for insurance in Singapore to be more actively regulated, instead of leaving to "a light touch".

Members of Parliament

This report shows the pay of Members of Parliament in various countries. In most countries, the MP works full time in their parliamentary work. In Singapore, they work part time and have another full time job.

Calling for more volunteers for FISCA

We have received volunteers for the role of VP for research, VP for operations and VP for membership. We now need to have additional volunteers to support them. If you are interested to help in the work of FISCA and to learn in the process about financial matters and also working in a team, give your particulars in this form:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dE1DdlNqcHBJZ0hPUkFZdHU1S2lXZ2c6MQ