VIDEO CONSULTATIONS AT POLYCLINICS

NOTICE PAPER NO. 493

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR 12 FEBRUARY 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr David Hoe

MP for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC

Question No. 1416

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether all polyclinics currently offer video consultations for non-emergency acute conditions in a primary care setting; (b) if not, whether there are plans for polyclinics not offering such telemedicine services to introduce them; and (c) if so, what are the expected timelines for implementation in these polyclinics.

Answer

1        Video consultations at polyclinics are generally limited to patients who had previously attended in-person at the polyclinic, and for specific indications, such as follow-up of minor acute conditions, to review test results, or to monitor patients’recovery. This ensures adequate clinical evaluation of medical conditions. Where clinically appropriate, such appointments will be arranged by the polyclinic. At the point of teleconsultation, if new or worsening conditions are identified, the video consultation will not proceed, and the patient will be advised to seek an in-person consultation instead. Teleconsultations for common acute symptoms like cough and cold with accompanying medical certificate issuance are not typically offered because these are already well provided for by private sector players. While SingHealth Polyclinics currently offers this service under a cluster-run pilot, there are no immediate plans for a broad expansion across all polyclinics.