RESIGNING PUBLIC SECTOR DOCTORS (Permission to take personal information of patients)

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RESIGNING PUBLIC SECTOR DOCTORS:

(Permission to take personal information of patients): 7.

Prof. Ivan Png Paak Liang asked the Minister for Health whether public sector doctors are permitted to take personal information of patients with them when they resign and enter private practice and, if not, what are the procedures to guard against such practices.

The Minister for Health (Mr Khaw Boon Wan): Mr Speaker, Sir, Prof. Ivan Png asked if a public sector doctor who leaves for the private sector can take his patient records along with him. The answer is "no".

In public hospitals, doctors are the employees. When a person is treated in a public hospital, he is a patient of the hospital and not the patient of a specific doctor. A departing doctor therefore cannot simply take along patient records residing in public hospitals with him. However, some patients may choose to continue the treatment by the doctor in his new clinic. In such cases, if the patients express their wishes, the hospital will facilitate the transfer of copies of the relevant medical information to the resigning doctor.

This is spelt out in hospital policies and our hospitals have in place processes to guard against any abuse. For example, doctors have to sign out medical records for their use and there are regular checks and random audits to ensure compliance.

In addition, the Singapore Medical Council has an ethical code and guidelines

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governing, among other things, how the resigning doctors should notify their patients of their impending change of practice arrangement. Our public hospitals, as well as the Council, will investigate any complaint of professional wrongdoing.

Prof. Ivan Png Paak Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, two supplementary questions for the Hon. Minister. First, what are the procedures regarding doctors who practise both in the public sector and the private sector? We do have doctors who practise in both places at the same time. How do we safeguard against the transfer of information in such cases?

Secondly, the Hon. Minister referred to the Medical Council and other guidelines. How do we ensure that doctors when they move between sectors or from one sector to the other sector, they do not take the medical records but they may take names and phone numbers, and that may be all that is enough to solicit business from the public sector patients?

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Mr Speaker, as I said, the guidelines are there, the code of ethics are there, and if there are wrongdoings, we investigate. And the professional will know that if there is an abuse of such privilege, there will be penalty whether by the employer or by SMC. Of course, in practice, you cannot stop a doctor from remembering the names of his patients. But the point is that patients have a choice. Because at the end of the day, you cannot drag the patient to the clinic. But if a patient decides that he wants to continue the treatment wherever it may be, it is his personal choice. I think, in any case, we should facilitate that. The key point is that medical records belong to the hospital wherever you practise, whether you are in the public or private sector. When you are in the hospital campus, then you have to do as the Romans do when in Rome.