SINGAPORE: Instead of trying to "squeeze" patients, building long-term relationships is key to the business model of the healthcare firm that bid S$52,188 in monthly rent for a unit in a Tampines Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate, said its co-owner.
Speaking to CNA on Wednesday (Jun 4), Mr Andrew Chim, who co-owns I-Health Medical Holdings, said that when they open a clinic at the unit later this month, patients will not pay above what other general practitioners (GPs) are charging for consultations and medicine.
"Rent is not commensurate with (consultation) fee," he said. "I can assure you that the total bill for different cases will be in range for other heartland clinics."
The successful bid for the ground floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 had raised eyebrows in recent days, sparking conversations over rental fees and healthcare costs.
"We thought that there was a number that even if HDB does not reduce the rent after three years, we will be very happy with what we get back in terms of the returns on the clinic," said Mr Chim.
There have been other successful rental bids for GP clinics in HDB estates in recent times. These include a S$40,088 bid for a unit at Block 235B Tengah Garden Walk in January.
Mr Chim also pointed out that in January last year, there was a successful bid for a clinic in Tampines North for S$39,938. I-Health had submitted a bid but was unsuccessful, he added.
"We believe that our unit is 10 to 20 per cent better than Tampines North. We believe our unit is 10 to 20 per cent better than Tengah Garden Walk," he added.
Other recent successful bids include a S$40,088 bid at Tengah Garden Walk and a S$25,388 bid at Tampines Street 64, both of which closed in January. There was also a S$25,900 bid at Champions Way in December 2024.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kang said in a Facebook post that he was "dismayed" at I-Health monthly rental bid for the clinic in Tampines.
"This must translate to higher cost of healthcare one way or another, and negate the effort of Ministry of Health, Singapore (MOH) to try to keep the cost of primary healthcare affordable," he added.
The profitability of I-Health's clinics and the business hinges on a number of factors, including the number of cases and repeat customers, he added.
"The foundation of I-Health is - we're not trying to squeeze the patients on every bill ... The philosophy is, if you take care of patients, if you take care of staff, the money will come," said Mr Chim.
"Who are the best clinics in the neighbourhood? The clinics (that) have been around the longest, have the trust of the patients."
The idea is to focus on patients who stay with the clinic for decades and return for annual health screenings, vaccinations and chronic disease management, said Mr Chim.
"This is where we make our bread and butter – by looking after people over their entire lifetime," he said.
"People come to you three times, they like you, they trust you. What happens? They shift their entire wallet share to you. So they stop going to other clinics. They only want to come to you, so that is the nature of our business."
The clinic will charge patients a consultation fee of S$30 on weekday mornings, S$33 on weekday nights, and S$35 on the weekends. These prices are "benchmarked very closely" to other clinics, said Mr Chim.
I-Health, which currently runs three other clinics in Singapore, plans to open its Tampines clinic between 13 and 14 hours every day, said Mr Chim.
Its clinics in Bedeemer, Yishun and Serangoon are currently open about 10.5 hours every day.
He added that the plan is to eventually have two doctors per shift at the Tampines site, with two to three shifts per day. Eventually, seeing 150 patients a day in total is "entirely possible".
At its Bendeemer clinic, Mr Chim said that there are close to 75 to 80 patients a day.
When asked whether this could result in doctors working long hours, Mr Chim said the company's doctors currently work about 43 to 48 hours a week.
The S$52,188 bid was one that was made after much research, said Mr Chim. There were several factors behind the decision for such a high bid, he said.
"We believe that it is a rate that we can have decent ROI (return on investment)."
For one, he pointed out that there is less competition in new Build-to-Order (BTO) estates due to the zoning of shops. In comparison, I-Health's other locations have between eight and 10 clinics in their areas.
"Our experience is that in mature estates, competition is very high from the old doctors ... If you have been going to the same doctor for 10 years, why would you switch?"
Mr Chim said that there is first-mover advantage for a clinic to establish itself in a new area, where a younger demographic is more "sensitive" to online reviews.
"If your digital marketing is good, meaning that your SEO (search engine optimisation) is good, and stuff like that, it's quite easy to capture the customers," he said.
"There is no barrier for them to try you out; they will search you up."
Mr Chim also pointed out that the density of residential estates that the Tampines clinic could potentially serve exceeds that of other clinics. The Tampines unit is near five BTO projects.
"We are extremely confident, because we've done all the groundwork. We have seen all the different units – we didn't bid for the other units. This is the best," he said.
I-Health pays between S$7,000 and S$10,000 for rental for each of its three other clinics, added Mr Chim.
"Different locations have different values, and the market determines the value," he said, noting that there were 13 bidders for the Tampines space – the most of all the locations listed in this particular sealed envelope tender.
"The BTOs are more in line with our business model and can allow us to grow faster, much faster, in terms of patient load. With growth in patient load, we will reduce all our costs, all our overheads."
When asked if I-Health's Tampines bid would result in higher rents across the board, Mr Chim said that this is not necessarily the case.
He said that should landlords hike rents, there is no guarantee tenants will be able to afford it.
"The risk to the landlord is extremely high for a new tenant coming in ... because they don't have the customer base and they have to burn money to get there," he added.
According to Mr Chim's estimates, the Tampines clinic will be able to break even within one-and-a-half years to two years and make a "decent" monthly profit by the third year.
He added that I-Health is also looking to expand to more locations, with three to four clinics a year from next year, at "top locations" in Singapore.
"We know exactly what we are doing, and we are confident of our business model. Our cash flow is enough to support even the worst-case scenario," said Mr Chim.
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Speaking to CNA on Wednesday (Jun 4), Mr Andrew Chim, who co-owns I-Health Medical Holdings, said that when they open a clinic at the unit later this month, patients will not pay above what other general practitioners (GPs) are charging for consultations and medicine.
"Rent is not commensurate with (consultation) fee," he said. "I can assure you that the total bill for different cases will be in range for other heartland clinics."
The successful bid for the ground floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 had raised eyebrows in recent days, sparking conversations over rental fees and healthcare costs.
"We thought that there was a number that even if HDB does not reduce the rent after three years, we will be very happy with what we get back in terms of the returns on the clinic," said Mr Chim.
There have been other successful rental bids for GP clinics in HDB estates in recent times. These include a S$40,088 bid for a unit at Block 235B Tengah Garden Walk in January.
Mr Chim also pointed out that in January last year, there was a successful bid for a clinic in Tampines North for S$39,938. I-Health had submitted a bid but was unsuccessful, he added.
"We believe that our unit is 10 to 20 per cent better than Tampines North. We believe our unit is 10 to 20 per cent better than Tengah Garden Walk," he added.
Other recent successful bids include a S$40,088 bid at Tengah Garden Walk and a S$25,388 bid at Tampines Street 64, both of which closed in January. There was also a S$25,900 bid at Champions Way in December 2024.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kang said in a Facebook post that he was "dismayed" at I-Health monthly rental bid for the clinic in Tampines.
"This must translate to higher cost of healthcare one way or another, and negate the effort of Ministry of Health, Singapore (MOH) to try to keep the cost of primary healthcare affordable," he added.
"NOT TRYING TO SQUEEZE PATIENTS"
The profitability of I-Health's clinics and the business hinges on a number of factors, including the number of cases and repeat customers, he added.
"The foundation of I-Health is - we're not trying to squeeze the patients on every bill ... The philosophy is, if you take care of patients, if you take care of staff, the money will come," said Mr Chim.
"Who are the best clinics in the neighbourhood? The clinics (that) have been around the longest, have the trust of the patients."
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The idea is to focus on patients who stay with the clinic for decades and return for annual health screenings, vaccinations and chronic disease management, said Mr Chim.
"This is where we make our bread and butter – by looking after people over their entire lifetime," he said.
"People come to you three times, they like you, they trust you. What happens? They shift their entire wallet share to you. So they stop going to other clinics. They only want to come to you, so that is the nature of our business."
The clinic will charge patients a consultation fee of S$30 on weekday mornings, S$33 on weekday nights, and S$35 on the weekends. These prices are "benchmarked very closely" to other clinics, said Mr Chim.
I-Health, which currently runs three other clinics in Singapore, plans to open its Tampines clinic between 13 and 14 hours every day, said Mr Chim.
Its clinics in Bedeemer, Yishun and Serangoon are currently open about 10.5 hours every day.
He added that the plan is to eventually have two doctors per shift at the Tampines site, with two to three shifts per day. Eventually, seeing 150 patients a day in total is "entirely possible".
At its Bendeemer clinic, Mr Chim said that there are close to 75 to 80 patients a day.
When asked whether this could result in doctors working long hours, Mr Chim said the company's doctors currently work about 43 to 48 hours a week.
CONFIDENT BECAUSE OF GROUNDWORK
The S$52,188 bid was one that was made after much research, said Mr Chim. There were several factors behind the decision for such a high bid, he said.
"We believe that it is a rate that we can have decent ROI (return on investment)."
For one, he pointed out that there is less competition in new Build-to-Order (BTO) estates due to the zoning of shops. In comparison, I-Health's other locations have between eight and 10 clinics in their areas.
"Our experience is that in mature estates, competition is very high from the old doctors ... If you have been going to the same doctor for 10 years, why would you switch?"
Mr Chim said that there is first-mover advantage for a clinic to establish itself in a new area, where a younger demographic is more "sensitive" to online reviews.
"If your digital marketing is good, meaning that your SEO (search engine optimisation) is good, and stuff like that, it's quite easy to capture the customers," he said.
"There is no barrier for them to try you out; they will search you up."
Mr Chim also pointed out that the density of residential estates that the Tampines clinic could potentially serve exceeds that of other clinics. The Tampines unit is near five BTO projects.
"We are extremely confident, because we've done all the groundwork. We have seen all the different units – we didn't bid for the other units. This is the best," he said.
Related:
I-Health pays between S$7,000 and S$10,000 for rental for each of its three other clinics, added Mr Chim.
"Different locations have different values, and the market determines the value," he said, noting that there were 13 bidders for the Tampines space – the most of all the locations listed in this particular sealed envelope tender.
"The BTOs are more in line with our business model and can allow us to grow faster, much faster, in terms of patient load. With growth in patient load, we will reduce all our costs, all our overheads."
When asked if I-Health's Tampines bid would result in higher rents across the board, Mr Chim said that this is not necessarily the case.
He said that should landlords hike rents, there is no guarantee tenants will be able to afford it.
"The risk to the landlord is extremely high for a new tenant coming in ... because they don't have the customer base and they have to burn money to get there," he added.
According to Mr Chim's estimates, the Tampines clinic will be able to break even within one-and-a-half years to two years and make a "decent" monthly profit by the third year.
He added that I-Health is also looking to expand to more locations, with three to four clinics a year from next year, at "top locations" in Singapore.
"We know exactly what we are doing, and we are confident of our business model. Our cash flow is enough to support even the worst-case scenario," said Mr Chim.
Continue reading...