PART 3A | ADVERTISEMENT OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES |
[Act 11 of 2023 wef 26/06/2023] | Advertisement of licensable healthcare services |
31.—(1) A person must not advertise, or cause to be advertised, a licensable healthcare service unless the person —| (a) | is a licensee authorised to provide that licensable healthcare service; or | | (b) | is acting on the authority of the licensee mentioned in paragraph (a) in advertising the licensable healthcare service or causing the licensable healthcare service to be advertised. |
| (2) For every advertisement of a licensable healthcare service by or caused by a licensee or a person mentioned in subsection (1)(b), the licensee and that person (if applicable) must ensure that the advertisement complies and is published in accordance with all prescribed requirements relating to the medium the advertisement appears in, and the content and form of the advertisement. |
| (3) A person that fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Advertisement of non-licensable healthcare services |
31A.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person (called in this section the advertiser) must not advertise, or cause to be advertised, any skill or service relating to the treatment of any ailment, disease, injury, infirmity or condition affecting the human body so as to induce any person to seek the advice of or treatment from the advertiser or any person referred to in the advertisement in connection with that skill or service.| (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the advertisement of a licensable healthcare service provided by a licensee, where the advertisement is published by the licensee or a person acting on the authority of the licensee. |
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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(4) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (3), it is a defence for the person charged to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the advertisement was published only in a publication of a technical character intended for circulation mainly among persons of the following classes, or of one or more of them:| (a) | medical practitioners; | | (b) | dentists; | | (c) | nurses or midwives who are registered, or enrolled nurses who are enrolled, under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999; | | (d) | pharmacists who are registered under the Pharmacists Registration Act 2007; | | (e) | holders of licences to sell poisons set out in the Schedule to the Poisons Act 1938; | | (f) | persons undergoing training with a view to becoming any of the persons mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d). |
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| (5) Where, in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (3), it is proved that an advertisement was referring to any skill of or service provided by the person charged, then, unless the contrary is proved, it is to be presumed for the purpose of those proceedings that the person charged had advertised or caused the advertisement of the skill or service, but without prejudice to the liability of any other person. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 26/06/2023] |
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| Restrictions on use of protected title |
31B.—(1) A person who advertises, or causes to be advertised a healthcare service and in the advertisement refers to any person who is not a specified person (called in this section the subject person) by a protected title must include in the advertisement —| (a) | the subject person’s educational qualification in relation to the use of the protected title whenever the protected title is used in the advertisement; | | (b) | where the subject person’s educational qualification mentioned in paragraph (a) is not a medical or dental qualification — a disclaimer stating that fact; and | | (c) | where the subject person has a medical or dental qualification — a disclaimer stating that the subject person does not hold a valid practising certificate under the Medical Registration Act 1997 or the Dental Registration Act 1999, as the case may be. |
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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(3) In this section —| “advertisement” includes any notice, circular, pamphlet, label, wrapper or other document, any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light or sound and any other form of advertising; |
| “medical or dental qualification” means any degree, diploma or other qualification that is recognised or approved in any jurisdiction to enable or entitle the holder of the degree, diploma or qualification to practise as a medical practitioner or dentist (as the case may be) in that jurisdiction; |
| “protected title” means the title “Doctor”, or any abbreviation or derivative of that title, in any language; |
“specified person” means an individual who is —| (a) | an allied health professional who is registered under the Allied Health Professions Act 2011 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; | | (b) | a dentist or an oral health therapist who is registered under the Dental Registration Act 1999 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; | | (c) | a medical practitioner who is registered under the Medical Registration Act 1997 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; | | (d) | a nurse or midwife who is registered, or an enrolled nurse who is enrolled, under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; | | (e) | an optometrist or optician who is registered under the Optometrists and Opticians Act 2007 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; | | (f) | a pharmacist who is registered under the Pharmacists Registration Act 2007 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act; or | | (g) | a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who is registered under the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Act 2000 and holds a valid practising certificate under that Act. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 26/06/2023] |
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| Directions to rectify or withdraw advertisement |
31C.—(1) Where a person has contravened section 31A(1) or 31B(1) (whether or not an offence under section 31A(3) or 31B(2) is committed by the person), the Director-General may direct the person to rectify or withdraw the advertisement that does not comply with the requirements of section 31A(1) or 31B(1) (as the case may be), within the period specified in the direction.(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with the Director-General’s direction under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 26/06/2023] |
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