SINGAPORE – MaNaDr has admitted that there were lapses in its services and introduced new safeguards following concerns over the improper use of its telehealth platform.
This comes more than three months after the Ministry of Health (MOH) revoked the licence of MaNaDr Clinic at City Gate in Beach Road, which halted all of its operations, including outpatient services at the clinic and temporary premises such as patients’ residences, as well as teleconsultations.
MaNaDr chief executive and founder Siaw Tung Yeng said during a media briefing on April 2 that the firm “could have done a better job” of preventing abuse of its telemedicine services, but did not explain how the lapses occurred.
“We are more committed than ever to creating a safe, ethical and effective platform to rebuild patients’ trust in telemedicine,” he said.Dr Siaw also did not specify if the firm is seeking recertification from MOH, only telling The Straits Times that opening a new clinic will be a “business decision”.
“Ultimately, that is not our main business, our business is in innovation and technology… The clinic at City Gate was just a place where we could pioneer our innovation.”
Investigations by MOH found that a very large number of cases seen by MaNaDr Clinic doctors involved very short teleconsultations with video calls that lasted one minute or less, but nevertheless concluded with the prescription of medication and issuance of medical certificates (MCs).
Following such short teleconsultations, MOH found that some patients were issued multiple MCs over a few different teleconsultations within a short period of time, for example, within 30 days.
In some instances, patient case notes contained detailed information that was not commensurate with the short duration of the teleconsultation. Conversely, in other instances, patient case notes were extremely sparse or brief, which potentially compromised the continuity of patient care.
Dr Siaw said the firm has since introduced several safeguards to its telehealth services, including artificial intelligence tools that transcribe doctor-patient conversations, a timer to prevent overly short consultations, and increased training and audits of doctors and clinics using the platform.
Checks by ST found that teleconsultations are still being conducted on the MaNaDr app through other clinics and service providers with their own remote licence.
Dr Siaw said “around 50 to 100” clinics continue to use the MaNaDr app, but declined to provide a specific figure. ST understands this represents a drop of more than half in the number of clinics using the platform.
MaNaDr sits under the holding company Mobile-health Network Solutions, which went public on the US’ tech-heavy stock exchange Nasdaq in April 2024.
Dr Rachel Teoh, co-founder of Mobile-health Network Solutions, said that funds raised from the initial public offering will continue to help MaNaDr’s expansion into regional markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.
She said that these markets will follow the firm’s business model in Singapore, which includes three key areas: telemedicine services, a wellness marketplace on the MaNaDr app offering access to mental health support and medical products, and an operating system for healthcare providers that features a clinic management platform.
Shares of Mobile-health Network Solutions have fallen more than 96 per cent in the past year to hit US$1.89 on April 1.
8 telehealth providers investigated by MOH for lapses MaNaDr Clinic’s licence revoked, findings uncover ‘entrenched culture of disregard’ for standards
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