SINGAPORE: Medstar Medical Clinic & Surgery is being investigated for providing medical certificates (MCs) on its telemedicine website, PocketCare, without conducting any audio or video consultation.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) stated that it was notified in February that PocketCare had been promoting on Instagram and its website that patients could get an MC for S$5.99 (US$4.50) net in five minutes without needing a video consultation.
According to the ministry’s press announcement on Friday, February 23, investigations revealed that Medstar “has been providing consultation through a self-service text-based questionnaire” and granting MCs thereafter without audio or video interaction with patients.
“As there is no real-time two-way engagement with an attending doctor during the service, patients could potentially provide false or inaccurate responses without any verification made on those responses by a doctor and obtain a medical certificate for a period of one to two days without appropriate clinical assessment,” stated the MOH.
“Patients who require a proper consultation may also not obtain the appropriate clinical assessment to manage their medical conditions.”
