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Video or Telephone Consultation Service

You may be offered to have your consultation at the Specialist Clinic to be conducted over video or telephone, should your medical condition is assessed by the doctor to be suitable.  

FAQs

What is this video consultation or telephone service?

Our doctor will be providing medical consultation to our patients over a video conference or telephone call, instead of doing a face-to-face consultation at the Specialist Clinic. 

Patients need not come to our Specialist Clinics for their outpatient appointments. Please ensure that you have completed your required tests before the consultation.

What platform are you using for such service?  

For video consultation, we will be using Zoom Cloud Meetings, a secure online video conferencing platform approved by the Ministry of Health for video conference consultation.  Zoom Cloud Meetings is a secure, end-to-end encrypted platform.  

How secure is this video consultation platform?

Safeguarding our patients' information and confidentiality is our priority.  We have worked with Zoom to ensure that the security settings for this platform is enhanced and compliant with our data protection requirements, in compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).  Each consultation session is also password protected to ensure confidentiality.

Zoom has also released a series of updates to enhance the platform's security.  Do ensure your Zoom application is updated to the latest version.

What device / equipment or software do I need to use this service?

For video consultation, you will need a computer or mobile device (smartphone/tablet) that has a video camera and microphone, which can either be inbuilt or a separate device connected to your computer or mobile device, e.g. a webcam.   You will also need to install Zoom on your computer or mobile device.

Instructions on Installing Zoom

For telephone consultation, you will need to use a telecommunication device with a valid phone number. This can either be a landline telephone or mobile phone.

I am connected to the video consultation session but I don't see the doctor on my screen.

If you do not see your doctor on the video screen, he or she may not have connected yet. Please be patient and remain logged in until your session commences.

What if the call gets disconnected during the video consultation session?

If the call gets disconnected during the session, please enter the consultation again using the e-Appointment link or Meeting ID provided. Should you still encounter any difficulties during the session, you may utilize the chat function in the application and our healthcare providers will assist you accordingly.

How will the Healthcare Professionals be certain that they are talking to the correct patient?

Prior to start of the video or telephone consultation, you will be required to answer a few questions for our staff to verify your identity. 

Will my video or telephone consultation be private and confidential?

Yes. All consultation sessions will be conducted between our doctor and the patient only. However, do note that a clinic room assistant will be present to assist the doctor, similar to a face-to-face consultation.  

How will I obtain an MC (if required)?

You will receive an SMS with an URL to download your digital MC. Key in your date of birth to do a one-time unlock. You may then forward the digital MC to your employer. 

Do you record the consultation sessions? Where do you store them?

The consultation sessions will not be recorded. The audio visual data is routed through the internet but not stored.

Please note that patients should not capture screenshots or take photographs, video and audio recordings of the video or telephone consultation by any means without prior agreement with Sengkang General Hospital.

How can I switch back to in-person consultations?

You may raise your preference to the healthcare provider when they are booking your follow-up appointment such that your choice of consultation type is booked. Please note that this may come with a longer waiting period for an appointment slot for either face-to-face consultation or video/phone consultation.

How will I receive my prescription/collect medication (if required)?

Our staff will contact you within 1 to 2 working days from consultation to schedule the delivery of your medications.

You can call the Medication Delivery Service hotline at 6930 2268 between 9am to 5pm (Monday to Friday) to check on the status.

Is this service free? How much is the consultation fee for video or telephone consultation?

Video consultation is charged at the same rate as face-to-face consultation. However, there is a 20%¹ discount for video doctor consultation fee, valid till further notice.

Telephone consultation is charged at 75% of the rate of face-to-face consultation.

Please click here to view the outpatient consultation charges.

¹ VC discount of 20% is not applicable for Non-Residents.

Am I able to claim from Medisave or other healthcare subsidy schemes?

Video consultation charges and drugs/investigations/scans ordered during video consultation can be paid for using MediSave. The use of healthcare schemes and government subsidies will follow that of a face-to-face outpatient consultation. Time-limited usage of Medisave will be extended to all chronic conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP²) from 9 October 2020 onwards.

² There are 20 conditions under the CDMP. They are diabetes (including pre-diabetes), hypertension, lipid disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, stroke, asthma, COPD, dementia, osteoarthritis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, Parkinson’s disease, chronic kidney disease (nephrosis/nephritis), epilepsy, osteoporosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and ischaemic heart disease.

How will I make payment?

The invoice for your VC will be finalized at the end of the day and you will receive a SMS notification that your bill is ready for payment within the same day. Following which, you can either pay via the Health Buddy app, DBS Internet/Mobile Banking or the AXS machine.