07-Jul-16 China’s pharmaceutical system will struggle to cope with a rapidly aging population and increases in non-communicable diseases says a report by LSE Health and the State Council. The report identifies market fragmentation as a major challenge, with the top five manufacturers holding <15% market share, and finds R&D accounts for only 2% of sales, compared with 14-18% for MNC pharma companies. [image: LSE]

06-Jul-16 There are many new private hospitals up and running in HCMC but a majority of them are grappling with lower-than-expected patient visit rates although their equipment is modern, according to the HCMC Department of Health. This is a paradox, as public hospitals have long been overwhelmed by increasingly large numbers of patient visits. [image: VNA/VNS The Anh]

24-Jun-16 Understaffed and undertrained, Hong Kong’s end-of-life care services struggle to meet the needs of an ageing population, despite government plans to expand the stretched provisions. Hong Kong has only 19 palliative care specialists, and university training has been criticised by experts. [image: South China Morning Post]

15-Jun-16 The Director of the National Hospital of Geriatrics in Vietnam says there are about 10 million senior citizens aged 60 and up, accounting for over 10% of the population. He added that healthcare facilities for aging people fail to meet the demand, particularly as the number of senior citizens is expected to increase to about 21 million by 2035. [image: VietnamNet Bridge]

13-Jun-16 In 2012, SGD4.7 billion was spent on healthcare in Singapore. Fast-forward to 2016, spending on healthcare is budgeted at SGD11 billion. Singapore’s medical spending growth is five times more than the general inflation rate. This is a worrying statistic. The financial burden on both the individual and family will be immense. [image: Aon Hewitt / Yahoo!]