Telemedicine Terms and Conditions

Note: Terms and conditions are subject to change. An updated version will always be made available online.

For other online services, refer to https://easycare.com.sg/terms-and-conditions/

i. Introduction and Account Creation

Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communications to enable health care providers at different locations to share individual patient medical information for the purpose of improving patient care. Providers may include primary care practitioners, specialists, and/or subspecialists. 

You are required to create an account when you register on the site, which includes your email, password and IC number. To register, you must be of legal age to form a binding contract. If you are not of legal age to form a binding contract, you may not register to use our telemedicine system unless accompanied by an adult. You agree that the account information that you provide to us at all times, including during registration and in any information you upload to the site will be true, accurate, current, and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password and for all activities that occur under your account. You may not use another person’s NRIC/FIN/Passport number to register an account. The same IC number will be printed on MCs and prescriptions.

Age 16-18: presumed to be able to consent for medical treatment unless proven otherwise
Age 18 or above: may consent for necessary medical treatment

We do not see children under 7 years of age barring very limited exceptional cases. 

Suitable conditions to see a Telemedicine Doctor include:

1. Cough and cold
2. Uncomplicated diarrhoea/food poisoning
3. Common Rashes/Eczema
4. Constipation
5. Acid reflux and indigestion
6. Uncomplicated urinary tract infection (Urine dipstick recommended)
7. Follow up elective consult
8. Request for repeat prescription:
   • Contraceptives
   • Chronic/Repeat Medications

This list is non-exhaustive.

Telemedicine should not be used for

• Extending MCs
• Certifying fitness (physical examination is required)
• Work Injury Compensation
• Eye pain and foreign bodies in the eye
• Ingestion of foreign bodies or foreign body in nose
• Emergencies
  1. Sudden vision loss
  2. Severe/Persistent abdominal pain
  3. Profuse bleeding
  4. Acute stroke
  5. Sudden chest pain or shortness of breath
• Repeated acute visits

ii. Information
The information may be used for diagnosis, therapy, follow-up and/or education, and may include any of the following:

· Patient medical records
· Medical images
· Live two-way audio and video
· Output data from medical devices and sound and video files

Electronic systems used will incorporate network and software security protocols to protect the confidentiality of patient identification and imaging data and will include measures to safeguard the data and to ensure its integrity against intentional or unintentional corruption. Legal action will be taken against individuals who use the web application for any unintended purpose.

By registering an account or accessing your account by corporate agreements, you agree to allow where necessary in the course of your diagnosis, treatment and billing, for iDOC Clinic doctors to access to your National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) and other medical information. 

iii. Possible Risks
As with any medical procedure, there are potential risks associated with the use of telemedicine.

These risks include, but may not be limited to:
· In rare cases, information transmitted may not be sufficient (e.g. poor resolution of images) to allow for appropriate medical decision making by the physician and consultant(s);
· Delays in medical evaluation and treatment could occur due to deficiencies or failures of the equipment;
· In very rare instances, security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy of personal medical information;
· In rare cases, a lack of access to complete medical records may result in adverse drug interactions or allergic reactions or other judgment errors;

The doctor reserves the right to discontinue Telemedicine at his own discretion if he feels that safe medical advice cannot be delivered in such instances.

iv. Consultation process
Proper video consultation is required to ensure the right professional advice is given to a specific individual, identified with NRIC or other credentials as well as your current location. However, voice-only consult (telephone or otherwise) may be allowed if an Allied Health Professional such as a pharmacist or nurse is available on the other end to ensure correct patient identity. These exceptions are made on a case-to-case basis. EasyCare International and iDOC Clinic will not send advertisements to your email or through other forms of contact without your consent. However, your contact details may be used for follow up of your medical condition.

Follow up methods include SMS, Whatsapp, email or traditional mail.

Waiting time
Doctor waiting times are shown live on the website. This is only estimated and a long consult/procedures can affect waiting time.

1. To avoid disappointment, it is advised that you make an appointment.
2. If the doctor deems you to be too unwell, then he/she may request for you to present to one of our clinics for a proper examination. MC will not be provided in such cases. The doctor may decide not to charge for this service.

Prescription Dispensing/Collection of Medications

1. 1. Prescriptions will be sent via email after payment has been made. The doctor will send you a prescription without a signature that can only be validated at selected collection points.
   2. You have to option to have just the barcode be sent to you. This is to prevent data breach.
   3. Prescriptions will be validated on our own internal system as a measure against forgery. If your prescription fails validation, then you will not be dispensed prescription medications.
   4. Unity Brands and iDOC Clinic Brands may differ but the drug dispensed, dosage and instructions will be the same.
   5. No benzodiazepines or codeine-containing substances will be prescribed. Benzodiazepine-like sleeping medications that may be potentially addictive are also not prescribed over the telemedicine service.A valid photo-ID with your NRIC/FIN number should be presented to staff upon collection. A passport will be required for foreigners who do not carry a work permit.

Medical Certificates (MCs)

1. A maximum of 1 day of MC will be given to patients. Extension of MC is not allowed through the telemedicine system except for a very small number of selected cases. If you are unwell for more than a day, then a visit to a physical doctor is warranted.
2. iDOC Clinic Telemedicine MCs are electronically signed. Should a physical stamp be required then physical presentation to one of the iDOC clinics is required. If you are an EasyCare Member, you may request this through your Care Coordinator.
3. Employers/HRs are welcome to validate MCs with us. This service is available at https://easycare.com.sg/validation-emc/.

v. Receiving MC/prescription and billing

There may be a 10-15 minute delay for receiving your MC/prescription/invoice to allow the doctor to complete documentation. The invoice is usually sent through your email. Your online payment would generate an invoice that can be used as a receipt. If your require an invoice that has sensitive data such as NRIC, please email admin@idoc.sg. A clinic staff will retrieve your details for billing and payment.  

Payments
1. Payment to iDOC clinic should be made through PayPal or PayNow and instructions will be provided in the invoice. If you do not have medications, the system will prompt for automatic payment.
2. PayLah Payments may occasionally have a validation delay of up to 2 hours. We would recommend PayPal as the preferred form of payment.
3. MCs and Prescription will not be issued before payment is made.
4. If you have missed the online prompt or have not made payment within 15 minutes, a payment link will be sent to your email.
5. Please do not pay twice. It may take up to 30 days before we are able to refund any over-payment.

vi. Data Collection
Should iDOC Clinic join the MOH Approved Regulatory Sandbox, anonymized data may be sent to MOH for further analysis and the data will send through the clinic. EasyCare International (iDOC) will be studying anonymised data to improve its services. However, the data will be anonymized. This is for safety checks and balances. We do not keep a record of the video consultation. Only a record of the clinic notes is kept as deemed necessary by the doctor and only retrievable by the doctor or clinic staff/care coordinators.

vii. Collection of Medications at iDOC Clinic and Unity Pharmacy

1. For medication collection, payment for consultation will be done first and the medications will be paid for at the time of collection. Do note that you are unable to use NTUC Link Points or discount vouchers when using a prescription from the Telemedicine System.
2. Please collect your medications at iDOC Clinic/selected Unity Pharmacy as the prescriptions will be validated there. As of 1 June 2020, you will need to inform us which Unity Pharmacy/iDOC Clinic you would be visiting. Your prescription will be sent directly via encrypted email to the centre of collection. If you would wish to change the pick up location, please email us at admin@idoc.sg.
   
3. An original copy will be printed at Unity Pharmacy/iDOC Clinic.
4. If you are prescribed only a part of the prescription, please collect the prescription from Unity Pharmacy/iDOC Clinic with a stamp under the external prescription section.

viii. Opting for delivery

If opting for delivery, do note that an additional $3 delivery fee will be charged. Drug prices will use that of prevailing iDOC Clinic prices.

1. You will be prompted to key in a delivery address upon selecting the right option. Delivery will be made on the same day if the consultation is completed before 4.30 pm.
2. Certain conditions (weather, road conditions and blockages) may prevent medications from reaching on time of which we will follow one of our contingencies and inform you of the next step.
3. The courier may contact you by phone to facilitate delivery.
4. You will be required to show a valid PhotoID when receiving the right medications.
5. In case where drug stock is unavailable and we are unable to make delivery on time, our doctor may choose to waive the charges. If delivery of physical MC and medications is unable to proceed, an electronic prescription and/or MC will be provided.
6. Medications will only be shipped after payment is made. Please let us know if you need electronic copies of the MC on top of the physical one.

ix. Security and Encryption

1. All data passed through video communication is encrypted. We are not responsible for any data breaches that occur on your end, eg. existing virus on your own device or conducting telemedicine in a non-private location.
2. All we will offer all documents to be sent with encryption unless you have given us permission to send unencrypted details through email. A password to decrypt these documents will be sent to you by SMS.
3. Our doctor will ask you if MC is to be sent with or without encryption at the end of the consultation. If your email already comes with TLS encryption, our doctor may send the file directly without the need to unlock using a password.
4. We reserve the right not to email certain unencrypted documents where there is suspicion of potential data breaches.