Singapore’s Ministry of Health revokes MaNaDr Clinic’s licence over ethical and clinical concerns

SINGAPORE, Dec 21 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) revoked MaNaDr Clinic’s licence yesterday.

Consequently, the clinic will no longer be able to provide outpatient medical services at its City Gate location at 371 Beach Road, at temporary premises such as patients’ homes, or through remote teleconsultations, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

“After careful consideration of MaNaDr Clinic’s representations, and based on the findings from MOH’s investigations, MOH has assessed that an entrenched culture of disregard for the applicable ethical and clinical standards exists within the organisation,” the ministry said in a statement.

It was noted that MaNaDr Clinic conducted a large number of very brief teleconsultations. In one sampled month, for instance, over 100,000 video calls lasted one minute or less, with the shortest lasting just one second.

“The prevalence of such inappropriate practices suggests a lack of effective internal oversight, controls and governance to ensure that outpatient medical services are consistently provided in a clinically and ethically appropriate manner by all its doctors,” MOH was quoted as saying.

Simultaneously, all of MaNaDr Clinic’s related accreditations and participation in MOH’s financial schemes, such as the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas), MediSave, and Healthier SG, will be terminated.

The ministry has also requested that MaNaDr Clinic notify all affected patients to ensure continuity of care.

Affected patients may consider visiting other nearby Chas, MediSave, or Healthier SG clinics.

According to ST, on October 24, MOH issued a notice to the clinic indicating its intention to revoke the licence under the Healthcare Services Act 2020. MaNaDr Clinic was given the opportunity to submit representations in response to the notice.

The ministry stated that it will continue to oversee licensed outpatient medical service providers offering teleconsultations to ensure compliance with regulations, and that it will take appropriate regulatory actions if any non-compliance is identified.