PHMC and HSA regulations to look out for when building your website for your clinic in Singapore

If you are a healthcare professional or a clinic owner in Singapore, you may want to have a website to showcase your services, expertise, and achievements. However, before you start building your website, you need to be aware of the relevant regulations and guidelines from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) that govern the online communication and advertising of health products and services. These regulations and guidelines are meant to protect the public interest and ensure that the information provided on your website is accurate, truthful, ethical and not misleading.

What are the PHMC and HSA regulations?

The PHMC and HSA regulations are the main legal frameworks that regulate the licensing and operation of private hospitals, medical clinics, clinical laboratories and healthcare services, as well as the manufacture, import, supply, presentation and advertisement of health products in Singapore. They include:

• The Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (PHMCA) and its subsidiary legislation, which regulate the licensing and operation of private hospitals, medical clinics, clinical laboratories and healthcare services in Singapore.
• The Healthcare Services Act (HCSA) and its subsidiary legislation, which will replace the PHMCA in phases from 2022 onwards, and introduce new licensing frameworks for healthcare services such as telemedicine, clinical laboratory service, radiological service, etc.
• The Health Products Act (HPA) and its subsidiary legislation, which regulate the manufacture, import, supply, presentation and advertisement of health products such as therapeutic products, medical devices, cell, tissue or gene therapy products, etc.

How do they affect your website?

Depending on the type of health products or services that you offer or promote on your website, you may need to comply with different aspects of the PHMC and HSA regulations. Some of the key areas that you need to pay attention to are:

Advertising of healthcare services

If you advertise your healthcare services on your website, such as your clinic name, location, contact details, opening hours, fees, specialties, qualifications, awards, testimonials, etc., you need to follow the standards and conditions set out in the PHMC (Advertisement) Regulations 2019. These include:

• You must not make any false or misleading claims or statements about your services or their outcomes.
• You must not use any testimonials or endorsements from celebrities or other persons who are not your patients or who have not used your services.
• You must not use any comparative or superlative terms such as “best”, “leading”, “top”, “most”, etc., unless they are supported by objective and verifiable evidence.
• You must not create unjustified expectations or induce unnecessary demand for your services.
• You must not use any images or videos that are altered or enhanced to misrepresent the reality or outcome of your services.
• You must not use any symbols or logos that may imply affiliation with MOH or HSA or any other government agencies.

Provision of information on health products

If you provide information on health products on your website, such as their names, ingredients, uses, benefits, risks, side effects, contraindications, precautions, etc., you need to follow the guidance provided by MOH-HSA circular on provision of information on health products by PHMCA/HCSA licensees and telemedicine service providers. These include:

• You must not advertise any health products that are not registered or approved by HSA for sale or supply in Singapore.
• You must not advertise any health products that are subject to prohibitions or restrictions by HSA under the HPA.
• You must not advertise any health products that are classified as prescription-only medicines (POMs) or pharmacy-only medicines (POMs), unless they are prescribed by a registered medical practitioner through a telemedicine service.
• You must not make any false or misleading claims or statements about the health products or their effects.
• You must not use any testimonials or endorsements from celebrities or other persons who are not your patients or who have not used the health products.
• You must not use any comparative or superlative terms such as “best”, “leading”, “top”, “most”, etc., unless they are supported by objective and verifiable evidence.
• You must not create unjustified expectations or induce unnecessary demand for the health products.
• You must provide balanced and factual information on the health products, including their risks and limitations.

Other considerations

Besides the PHMC and HSA regulations, you may also need to consider other factors when building your website for your clinic in Singapore. These include:

• The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal data in Singapore. You need to ensure that you obtain consent from your patients before collecting their personal data on your website. You also need to protect their personal data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.
• The Spam Control Act (SCA), which regulates the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages in Singapore. You need to ensure that you obtain consent from your recipients before sending them any promotional or marketing messages via email, SMS, MMS, etc. You also need to provide them with an option to unsubscribe from your messages.
• The Intellectual Property (IP) laws, which protect the rights of the owners of creative works such as logos, images, videos, texts, etc. You need to ensure that you have the permission or license to use any IP materials on your website. You also need to respect the IP rights of others and avoid infringing them.

Conclusion

Building a website for your clinic in Singapore can be a great way to showcase your services, expertise and achievements. However, you need to be aware of the relevant regulations and guidelines from MOH and HSA that govern the online communication and advertising of health products and services. By following these regulations and guidelines, you can ensure that your website is accurate, truthful, ethical and not misleading to the public. You can also avoid any legal or regulatory consequences that may arise from non-compliance.

If you need any assistance or advice on building your website for your clinic in Singapore, you can contact sinhongjoo.com, a freelance website developer with over 10 years of experience in creating websites for various industries, including healthcare. We can help you create a website that meets your needs and expectations, as well as complies with the relevant regulations and guidelines. Contact us today for a free consultation and quote. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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