Questions on cost of PEP at DSC vs Public Hospital

[Guest Guest Anxious]

I had unprotected sex in a folly. I was the top. Btm says he is clean, but I don't want to take the risk.

 

I am considering going to DSC Clinic tmr to enquire about PEP. 

 

May I check with you guys on what the total cost is at DSC clinic? I see their website states $500-$800. Under what circumstances is it $500.

 

Also, I do have CHAS blue card. Is going to NCID or NUH a better option, if there are subsidized medication, test and consultation, that could work out cheaper than DSC Clinic?

 

Sorry about all my questions about cost. I'm kinda cash strapped at the moment

 

Thank you

[Guest hmm]

I paid 550 for two-drug regimen. This is not including consultation fees. 

 

[Dr T]

On 10/29/2021 at 12:16 AM, Guest Guest Anxious said:

I had unprotected sex in a folly. I was the top. Btm says he is clean, but I don't want to take the risk.

 

I am considering going to DSC Clinic tmr to enquire about PEP. 

 

May I check with you guys on what the total cost is at DSC clinic? I see their website states $500-$800. Under what circumstances is it $500.

 

Also, I do have CHAS blue card. Is going to NCID or NUH a better option, if there are subsidized medication, test and consultation, that could work out cheaper than DSC Clinic?

 

Sorry about all my questions about cost. I'm kinda cash strapped at the moment

 

Thank you

Can contact me via Line: Genethica

or email dr.taufiq@pulse-clinic.com

I can advise you further on the details

[Guaiguaihunk]

On 10/29/2021 at 12:22 AM, Guest hmm said:

I paid 550 for two-drug regimen. This is not including consultation fees. 

 

 

Does this include all the test they ask you to take? Consultation is only $20++ right?

[30yochinese]

On 10/29/2021 at 12:16 AM, Guest Guest Anxious said:

I had unprotected sex in a folly. I was the top. Btm says he is clean, but I don't want to take the risk.

 

I am considering going to DSC Clinic tmr to enquire about PEP. 

 

May I check with you guys on what the total cost is at DSC clinic? I see their website states $500-$800. Under what circumstances is it $500.

 

Also, I do have CHAS blue card. Is going to NCID or NUH a better option, if there are subsidized medication, test and consultation, that could work out cheaper than DSC Clinic?

 

Sorry about all my questions about cost. I'm kinda cash strapped at the moment

 

Thank you

Hi Guest Guest Anxious,

Sorry to hear about ur plight, 🥰😍Hugs, i have an alternative for u, which i did in 2019 & becoz i did this... That is why i am H.I.V. negative today. 1hour after gtg exposed as a Top, i went straight to N.U.H. A&E & was prescribed P.E.P(it was hassle free for me...mite be different for U...)

               

i can't remember how much the subsidised price is, but its def exceeds $150, for 1 week of the Post-Exposure Drug.

                                   

Hope that helps...😘take care!

Edited October 29, 2021 by 30yochinese
.

[Guest guest 123]

Hi, Guest Guest Anxoius,

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. You must be feeling extremely anxious.

 

Please note that if you want to take PEP, you should take it within 72 hours of potential exposure. The longer you wait, the effectiveness of PEP drops.

 

The comparison of public vs private

 

1. Public

DSC clinic is only open from mondays to fridays from 8am-11am and 1pm-4pm. it is closed on saturdays and sundays. Since time is of the essence, and if this happens over the weekend, it is suggested that you head to any of the A&E at the government hospitals (doctors and nurses will have PEP on standby as they themselves might have to take in situations where they have been in contact with blood from from a HIV patient). They should be able to prescribe you at least days' worth of PEP. Thereafter, you can head down to DSC on a weekday. The cost should be around $600-$700. I can't remember if this includes tests for other STDs.

 

2. Private.

Private clinics do charge a premium and my experience is that they charge about $2000 (excl GST). They charge additional if you do tests for different STDs and further charges apply for different methods (throat swab, anal swab and urine).

 

Hope the above helps!

 

[SimeiEast]

Out of curiosity, is PEP offered at A&E of all public hospitals? The below website says it's only available at TTSH.

 

https://www.nsc.com.sg/dsc/prevention-education/prevention/Pages/Post-Exposure-HIV-Prophylaxis.aspx

[Guest upset]

Is there a minimum period for drugs to be dispensed before it expires?

 

I was prescribed pep which is going to expire in a month time by private clinic. It's manufactured in year 20 but going to expiry in Jun 23 The doc said the drug is effective and can be consumed.

I explained that I would prefer to get pep which has a longer expiry date to be certain the drug is still effective especially we are preventing the infection of HIV and i spent $2.4k on it. In the end, the clinic obliged to change another bottle for me but i have to pay for the 1 tablet which i already took before discovering the expiry date.

 

[Guest PepOrPrep]

4 hours ago, Guest upset said:

Is there a minimum period for drugs to be dispensed before it expires?

 

I was prescribed pep which is going to expire in a month time by private clinic. It's manufactured in year 20 but going to expiry in Jun 23 The doc said the drug is effective and can be consumed.

I explained that I would prefer to get pep which has a longer expiry date to be certain the drug is still effective especially we are preventing the infection of HIV and i spent $2.4k on it. In the end, the clinic obliged to change another bottle for me but i have to pay for the 1 tablet which i already took before discovering the expiry date.

 

Are you talking about truvada prep for HIV or doxy pep for other STIs? They aren’t the same thing.

 

didn’t realise it was so expensive here. I bought mine online.

 

prep- $80 3 months daily use

pep- $50 15 doses

[Guest upset]

it's pep for hiv, cost me $2.4k for 28 days

 

[sgwildfire18]

I would like to share my experience getting PREP at DSC which I thought of taking to protect me and my partner.

 

1. I called up DSC and asked about the process of getting PREP. They told me to go down to see a doctor and that I can get PREP on the same day.

 

2. I went down the next day. The receptionist told me I was given the wrong information and that I needed an appointment to see a doctor. She told me I can get PREP on the same day as the consultation.

 

3. I went down today for my appointment and had to wait nearly 1 hour to see the doctor. He told me I needed to test for HIV and kidney (both of which I know) and that I can only get the PREP 2 weeks later (so much for preventing AIDS). He asked a whole bunch  of questions and then sent me outside to wait for my blood tests.

 

4. Outside, I waited another hour before I got called in for my blood test. The doctor told me that the other doctor had ordered a whole bunch of tests for me. I asked for the cost and was told it would be nearly $300. I said "NO. Forget it" .. he then lowered the number of tests to HIV and syphilis and said it would cost about $150. I said "No. Forget it" (the cost of HIV and syphilis would only be about $70 and I can get the results immediately). So he checked with the first doctor and they agreed to charge me for consultation which is $23.

 

5. I waited another 30 min to get my bill and passed the cashier $50. She waited to give the change in (10 cent / 20 cent) coins. Her excuse? She got no change.

 

6. I told her I would post my whole experience on the internet for all to know

 

[keyboard]

 

I would like to share my experience getting PREP at DSC which I thought of taking to protect me and my partner.

 

1. I called up DSC and asked about the process of getting PREP. They told me to go down to see a doctor and that I can get PREP on the same day.

 

2. I went down the next day. The receptionist told me I was given the wrong information and that I needed an appointment to see a doctor. She told me I can get PREP on the same day as the consultation.

 

3. I went down today for my appointment and had to wait nearly 1 hour to see the doctor. He told me I needed to test for HIV and kidney (both of which I know) and that I can only get the PREP 2 weeks later (so much for preventing AIDS). He asked a whole bunch  of questions and then sent me outside to wait for my blood tests.

 

4. Outside, I waited another hour before I got called in for my blood test. The doctor told me that the other doctor had ordered a whole bunch of tests for me. I asked for the cost and was told it would be nearly $300. I said "NO. Forget it" .. he then lowered the number of tests to HIV and syphilis and said it would cost about $150. I said "No. Forget it" (the cost of HIV and syphilis would only be about $70 and I can get the results immediately). So he checked with the first doctor and they agreed to charge me for consultation which is $23.

 

5. I waited another 30 min to get my bill and passed the cashier $50. She waited to give the change in (10 cent / 20 cent) coins. Her excuse? She got no change.

 

6. I told her I would post my whole experience on the internet for all to know

 

That experience does not sound good at all. There's also an expectation in Singapore that things are a lot more efficient than they actually are.

 

Here's some info from their website, https://www.nsc.com.sg/dsc/prevention-education/prevention/Pages/Post-Exposure-HIV-Prophylaxis.aspx

Had a colleague mentioned that in his country, the doctor treats the smallest thing then come back and check again if it worsens. In Singapore, the doctor treats the most serious thing then come back and lessen the condition.

[StockBottom]

 

I would like to share my experience getting PREP at DSC which I thought of taking to protect me and my partner.

 

1. I called up DSC and asked about the process of getting PREP. They told me to go down to see a doctor and that I can get PREP on the same day.

 

2. I went down the next day. The receptionist told me I was given the wrong information and that I needed an appointment to see a doctor. She told me I can get PREP on the same day as the consultation.

 

3. I went down today for my appointment and had to wait nearly 1 hour to see the doctor. He told me I needed to test for HIV and kidney (both of which I know) and that I can only get the PREP 2 weeks later (so much for preventing AIDS). He asked a whole bunch  of questions and then sent me outside to wait for my blood tests.

 

4. Outside, I waited another hour before I got called in for my blood test. The doctor told me that the other doctor had ordered a whole bunch of tests for me. I asked for the cost and was told it would be nearly $300. I said "NO. Forget it" .. he then lowered the number of tests to HIV and syphilis and said it would cost about $150. I said "No. Forget it" (the cost of HIV and syphilis would only be about $70 and I can get the results immediately). So he checked with the first doctor and they agreed to charge me for consultation which is $23.

 

5. I waited another 30 min to get my bill and passed the cashier $50. She waited to give the change in (10 cent / 20 cent) coins. Her excuse? She got no change.

 

6. I told her I would post my whole experience on the internet for all to know

 

 

This is truly ridiculous, and DSC is not even an underfunded NGO like AfA. It's an official MOH funded clinic, with bad service to boot (read the Google reviews)!  

[obgdcriv]

 

I would like to share my experience getting PREP at DSC which I thought of taking to protect me and my partner.

 

1. I called up DSC and asked about the process of getting PREP. They told me to go down to see a doctor and that I can get PREP on the same day.

 

2. I went down the next day. The receptionist told me I was given the wrong information and that I needed an appointment to see a doctor. She told me I can get PREP on the same day as the consultation.

 

3. I went down today for my appointment and had to wait nearly 1 hour to see the doctor. He told me I needed to test for HIV and kidney (both of which I know) and that I can only get the PREP 2 weeks later (so much for preventing AIDS). He asked a whole bunch  of questions and then sent me outside to wait for my blood tests.

 

4. Outside, I waited another hour before I got called in for my blood test. The doctor told me that the other doctor had ordered a whole bunch of tests for me. I asked for the cost and was told it would be nearly $300. I said "NO. Forget it" .. he then lowered the number of tests to HIV and syphilis and said it would cost about $150. I said "No. Forget it" (the cost of HIV and syphilis would only be about $70 and I can get the results immediately). So he checked with the first doctor and they agreed to charge me for consultation which is $23.

 

5. I waited another 30 min to get my bill and passed the cashier $50. She waited to give the change in (10 cent / 20 cent) coins. Her excuse? She got no change.

 

6. I told her I would post my whole experience on the internet for all to know

 

 

Thanks for sharing. This is terrible. No wonder people I know are getting prep online.