SINGAPORE, Oct 25 — The Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) plans to revoke the licence of MaNaDr, a telehealth provider, which would prevent it from offering any medical services.
Additionally, 41 public and private sector doctors who provided teleconsultations at MaNaDr will be referred to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for potential professional misconduct of the Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines, The Straits Times reported.
“This is in view of MOH’s assessment that MaNaDr Clinic is unable to continue providing outpatient medical services in a clinically and ethically appropriate manner,” the MOH was quoted as saying in a statement.
Without the licence, MaNaDr must cease to provide outpatient services at its Beach Road clinic, at temporary sites, or via teleconsultations.
In August, the MOH ordered MaNaDr to stop its outpatient services via teleconsultation.
According to the Singapore newspaper, investigations showed that many cases involved brief teleconsultations lasting one minute or less, raising questions about the safety and quality of prescriptions and medical certificates issued.
The MOH also found instances where patients received multiple medical certificates within a short timeframe, raising further alarm.
“Based on these findings, there is reason to believe that there is an entrenched culture of disregard for the applicable clinical and ethical standards within MaNaDr Clinic,” an unnamed representative of the MOH was quoted as saying.
Among the 41 referred doctors, 13 were locum practitioners who violated their employment terms by conducting teleconsultations while on active duty without approval.
Disciplinary actions have been taken against some of them, The Straits Times reported.
To enhance accountability, MOH has introduced new regulations requiring all medical certificates to include the issuing practitioner’s name and registration number.
MaNaDr Clinic has 14 days to respond to MOH’s decision, and the ministry is also reviewing the performance of its clinical governance officer.
The Straits Times said it has reached out to MaNaDr for comment but yet to receive a reply at the time of writing.
The MaNaDr platform is also used in Malaysia where it operates independently from its Singapore counterpart to provide digital healthcare solutions and has received recognition for its services.
