Jumping into telehealth is daunting if not near-impossible for many small clinics. It doesn’t have to be.
Earlier this year, MyDoc has been appointed Solution Provider under the SMEs Go Digital Programme. Under the programme, small and medium-sized clinics can now incorporate telehealth into their workflow without the risk or hassle of doing it alone.
Things to consider when moving to telehealth
In Singapore, there are over 1,700 GP clinics that fulfil about 80% of the total primary care demand. Many of these are solo or medium-sized practices, where doctors and administrators have little to no time in between patients, let alone consider about adopting telehealth.
Although telehealth sounds good on paper, there are many considerations for a clinic before going digital. For example:
- Will I (the doctor) be able to adapt my skills from an in-person examination to an online examination?
- Would I need to train all my staff doctors to use a new system? How much time would that take?
- What kind of hardware would I need to support a telehealth operation? Is it expensive?
- How much time would the technology take to set up? How am I going to maintain this?
- What are the laws and regulations around this?
- How would this change my daily workflow? How would it affect my patients?
- Is this really secure? Is my patient’s privacy protected?
- How would prescriptions work?
- and many more…..
With so much to consider and so much at stake, a clinic will have to consider the risks of implementing unfamiliar technology and processes that may cost them time with their patients.
IMDA SMEs Go Digital Programme – for clinics
For IMDA and MyDoc, it’s important that the very pillar of Singapore’s primary healthcare system gets the support they need to be able to adopt new technologies, without the concerns.
Under the SMEs Go Digital Programme, MyDoc will be providing all the technology and training that a clinic needs for adopting telehealth into their practice. Clinics will only need to pay for a subscription fee, that allows them to access MyDoc’s platform through the mobile app or the web app, no additional hardware needed.
Doctors will also receive additional training from MyDoc’s clinical operations team on workflows of providing care online, as well as clinical skills relevant for online video consultations. Clinicians will also learn about the necessary documentation and follow up requirements for specific conditions that are routinely seen with telemedicine.
To make the adoption even easier, government grants, e.g. Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), are available for the adoption of these solutions under the SMEs Go Digital Programme. Eligible employers for SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) will receive a one-off $10,000 credit to cover up to 90% of the out of pocket expenses on qualifying costs.
About MyDoc
Established in 2012, MyDoc has nearly a decade of experience in incorporating telehealth technology to the existing system. With operations across 8 countries, the company has provided training and support for doctors and allied health professionals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India, and the US, with more underway for 2021.
One of the early providers of telehealth, MyDoc is a member of the Ministry of Health’s regulatory sandbox. The company works very closely with MOH to ensure that the services provided are safe, effective and in accordance with any guidelines and regulations suggested by the authorities.
As a Google Cloud Partner, MyDoc has a very robust information security policy that was developed in accordance with local or international regulatory guidelines and procedures. In Singapore, MyDoc’s policy is developed in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012.
Additional links
To find out more about the SMEs Go Digital Programme, click here.
To find out more about how MyDoc can help you modernise your practice, please email us at support@my-doc.com with the subject IMDA SMEs Go Digital Programme.
For media enquiries, please email us at media@my-doc.com.
