Patients can soon “see” their doctors online from the comfort of their own home, with the launch of a national video consultation platform for healthcare services on12th of April, 2017
The cloud-based platform allows for multi-party video conferencing, file sharing and the display of medical reports or images during consultations. Each video consultation session also uses end-to-end encryption and is protected with security measures, such as two-factor authentication. Six public healthcare institutions will be the first to launch the system, accessible via smartphone or computer. Since November last year, video consultations have been available for selected services at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. From mid-2017, the platform will also be used at the National University Hospital and National University Cancer Institute. At KKH, the service will be expanded to areas such as paediatric home care, lactation consultation, speech therapy and follow-ups for paediatric eczema pharmacy. For the other institutions, patients can communicate with their doctors on issues such as post-stroke needs, communicable diseases and cancer. Launched by the Integrated Health Information System (IHiS), the national technology agency for healthcare, the platform will allow doctors to monitor patients more regularly than traditional face-to-face appointments.