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No. S 603

Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act

(Chapter 248)

Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (Medalert System) Regulations 2008

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 22 of the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act, the Minister for Health hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (MedAlert System) Regulations 2008 and shall come into operation on 1st January 2009.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“business day”, in relation to any licensed premises or conveyance, means a day on which the licensed premises or conveyance is open for business, regardless of the period that the licensed premises or conveyance is open for business;

“facsimile number” means a Singapore telephone number to which a facsimile transmission may be sent;

“healthcare worker”, in relation to any licensed premises or conveyance, means a person who carries out any work which involves handling or dealing with —

(a)	any patient of the licensed premises or conveyance; or
(b)	any biological sample taken from such a patient;

“licensed premises or conveyance”, in relation to a licensee, means the private hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment for which the licensee holds a licence;

“licensee” means the holder of a licence;

“MedAlert” means the information which is sent to licensees or any class of licensees through the MedAlert System in relation to any medical or healthcare matter that is, in the opinion of the Director, important and time-sensitive;

“MedAlert System” means the system maintained and operated by the Government for the purpose of sending information to licensees or any class of licensees in relation to any medical or healthcare matter that is, in the opinion of the Director, important and time-sensitive;

“mobile telephone number” means a Singapore mobile telephone number issued by a telecommunication licensee under the Telecommunications Act (Cap. 323);

“patient”, in relation to any licensed premises or conveyance, means a person receiving any treatment or care thereat;

“responsible person” means a person designated by a licensee to receive information through the MedAlert System on behalf of the licensee.

Compulsory subscription to MedAlert System

3.—(1) Every licensee shall subscribe to the MedAlert System.

(2) An application for subscription to the MedAlert System shall be made by a licensee in such form and manner as the Director may determine.

(3) A licensee shall, when making the application under paragraph (2), provide the Director with —

(a)

such particulars as may be specified in the application form or as the Director may require; and

(b)

the following contact information at which the licensee or a responsible person may at all times be contacted for the purposes of the MedAlert System:

(i)	a mobile telephone number; and
(ii)	an electronic mail address or a facsimile number.

(4) Any licensee who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

Duty to remain contactable

4.—(1) Every licensee shall —

(a)

maintain —

(i)	a mobile telephone number; and
(ii)	an electronic mail address or a facsimile number,

at which he or a responsible person may at all times be contacted for the purposes of the MedAlert System; and

(b)

notify the Director of any change in the contact information he has provided to the Director under regulation 3(3)(b) or that is maintained under paragraph (a), within 24 hours of such change, and in such form and manner as the Director may require.

(2) Any licensee who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

Duty to disseminate information provided through MedAlert System, etc.

5.—(1) Every licensee shall —

(a)	regularly check, or ensure that a responsible person regularly checks, the electronic mail address or facsimile referred to in regulation 4(1) for MedAlerts sent through the MedAlert System to the licensee; and
(b)	disseminate, or ensure that a responsible person disseminates, the information contained in a MedAlert in accordance with paragraph (2), (3) or (4), as the case may be.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), where a MedAlert has been sent to a licensee through the MedAlert System on a business day of his licensed premises or conveyance, the information contained in the MedAlert shall be disseminated to —

(a)	every healthcare worker of the licensed premises or conveyance within 24 hours of the information having been sent through the MedAlert System; or
(b)	such categories of healthcare workers of the licensed premises or conveyance, and within such period, as the MedAlert may specifically provide.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where a MedAlert has been sent to a licensee through the MedAlert System on a day other than a business day of his licensed premises or conveyance, the information contained in the MedAlert shall be disseminated to —

(a)	every healthcare worker of the licensed premises or conveyance by the next business day of the licensed premises or conveyance; or
(b)	such categories of healthcare workers of the licensed premises or conveyance, and within such period, as the MedAlert may specifically provide.

(4) Where any healthcare worker to whom information contained in a MedAlert is to be disseminated is not at the licensed premises or conveyance at the time the information is required to be disseminated to him under paragraph (2) or (3), the information shall be disseminated to the healthcare worker —

(a)	when the healthcare worker next attends at the licensed premises or conveyance; and
(b)	before the healthcare worker handles or deals with any patient of the licensed premises or conveyance, or any biological sample taken from such a patient.

(5) Any licensee who contravenes paragraph (1)(b) shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) If a licensee is charged with an offence under paragraph (5), it shall be a defence for him to prove any of the following:

(a)

the MedAlert did not arrive at the electronic mail address or the facsimile number which the licensee had provided to the Director under regulation 3(3)(b) or 4(1)(b);

(b)

the MedAlert arrived at the electronic mail address or at the facsimile number which the licensee had provided to the Director under regulation 3(3)(b) or 4(1)(b) at a time which made it impossible for the licensee or the responsible person to disseminate the information contained in the MedAlert in accordance with paragraph (2), (3) or (4), as the case may be, but he disseminated the information or caused the information to be disseminated to the healthcare workers of the licensed premises or conveyance as soon as, with reasonable diligence, he could do so; or

(c)

the licensee or the responsible person could not, with reasonable diligence, access the electronic mail at the electronic mail address or the facsimile transmission at the facsimile number which the licensee had provided to the Director under regulation 3(3)(b) or 4(1)(b) until after the expiry of the period within which the information contained in the MedAlert is required to be disseminated under paragraph (2), (3) or (4), as the case may be, but —

(i)	the licensee or the responsible person accessed the electronic mail or the facsimile transmission as soon as, with reasonable diligence, he could do so; and
(ii)	he disseminated the information to the healthcare workers of the licensed premises or conveyance of the licensee as soon as, with reasonable diligence, he could do so.

Penalty

6. Any licensee who is guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Made this 20th day of November 2008.

YONG YING-I

Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Health,
Singapore.

[MH(CF)78:04/4-2; AG/LEG/SL/248/2002/1 Vol. 2]