How To Book House Calls Online In Singapore – Speedoc, Rescu.SG, MaNa Dr, My Health Connect

In part 1, we looked at telemedicine apps that provide end to end teleconsulting with doctors through video calls, who will then diagnose and prescribe medicine that will be sent to your location.

In this video, we’ll take a look at other telemedicine options that are slightly different.

The first app we’re trying is Speedoc, which is a 24-hour on-demand service for house calls.

Once you sign up, the landing page allows you three options – to call a doctor, nurse or to book a private ambulance that can take you to the hospital or healthcare institution of your choosing – similar to calling a cab.

Booking a private ambulance costs between S$120 – S$170 depending on the location, and time of day. We’re not going to call a doctor now, but according to their website, booking a doctor or a nurse is equally simple. Once they arrive at your location, they will attend to your requests and review your condition. Payment for the session will be made through the app.

Once that is done, there is a follow-up service to check on your condition after the visit.

They also have a package for chronic disease management which is definitely more convenient than travelling to the hospital whenever you need a check-up or follow up care.

Now rescu.sg is similar to Speedoc, without the app. This is actually a website that facilitates house calls at your convenience. According to their website, these house calls last 15 minutes and you can have multiple consultations if you let them know in advance.

There are three ways to book a doctor – through the contact form on their website, by email or through their hotline.

The best part about this service is that they operate around the clock, but it does come at a steeper price point and varies depending on the time of day.

Do note that there are certain restrictions during this period of the COVID-19 crisis, so best to call and check their terms and conditions.

SATA CommHealth started out as the Singapore Anti Tuberculosis Association and has now grown into a network of clinics around Singapore. They now offer teleconsultation but they do not have an app.

Instead, you can contact them on Whatsapp via the number provided on their website and speak with whoever is available.

Consultation costs a reasonable S$12.50, with a delivery charge of S$7for medication, but this service is only available during their opening hours from 8.30am – 5pm on weekdays.

The next app we’re trying is MaNaDr. This app is slightly different from the rest. It connects patients to clinics or specific doctor, options which you can select from their platform.

So the services listed here are scheduling a clinic visit, consult a doctor via chat or video, schedule house calls, or shop on their platform for health-related products.

It’s a pretty versatile app but you have to bear in mind that the services vary from each of the service providers. We scrolled through a list of their featured providers, and some are clinics that allow you to book clinic visits at an available timeslot.

Chat consultations start from S$10 for the first 5 messages and S$0.70 per message subsequently. Video consultations, if available, start from $10 for the first 3 minutes. Subsequently, you can be charged at $0.50 or $1 per minute.

The next app is called MyHealth Connect, which is an app by Parkway Shenton health group.

The interface on this app has the same template to HiDoc, if you recall from the previous video and it’s even more straightforward. To access the teleconsultation function, select the first option ‘I need medical assistance’. It’ll then lead you through a short questionnaire to assess your condition. From there, they’ll let you select from a list of doctors with different specialities.

Then from there, there will be a list of time slots for you to schedule an appointment for the call. It costs $18 per consultation and an additional $10 delivery fee for medication.

To sum up, we’ve covered another five telemedicine services today.

Both ​Speedoc ​and ​Rescu.sg​ focuses on house calls and on-demand services like hiring a home nurse or private ambulance. The cost of having a doctor come over is obviously higher as well, but both offer round the clock service which is pretty convenient.

Speedoc’s app​ feels very much like hiring a cab, so it felt very familiar for me to navigate the interface. Rescu.sg​ does not have an app, so it might be more comfortable for folks who are not as savvy on smartphones.

Like ​Rescu.sg, SATA HealthComm​ does not have an app and connects to doctors on Whatsapp instead. The downside of this is you can’t choose your doctor but the cost of the consultation is very low – at $12.50.

MaNaDr ​connects a network of clinics and doctors, so if you want to have options to ‘shop’ around for clinics or doctors to visit. And they offer chat consultations too, for those who are camera shy. The huge variety of options could get a little overwhelming, so you might want to explore the app fully first to familiarize yourself.

If you’re already comfortable with ​Parkway Health​, then you’d want to use their ‘​MyHealth Connect’​ app. The interface is very straightforward but the medicine delivery fee is steep if you compare to all the other apps which offer this as a complimentary service.

These services certainly provide more accessibility for a variety of reasons, if you’re feeling too unwell to visit the clinic, or if you have mobility issues or a recurring health problem. Especially during this period when we are all doing our part to contain the COVID-19, telemedicine is definitely one tech solution that can help all of us keep healthy.

This is part of the SG United Content Series supported by IMDA. Let’s stay hopeful and stay united! #SGUnited #StayHealthyGoDigital.