Health startup DoctorxDentist faces backlash from Singapore’s medical community

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The startup has been facing a backlash over the past month for refusing to take down listings of doctors and dentists from its platform, despite repeated requests from the SMC.

The Academy of Medicine, Singapore (AMS), a professional institution of medical and dental specialists with over 3,700 members, has raised concerns against the health startup’s practices, reported The Business Times.

DoctorxDentist’s directory contains details of over 10,000 practitioners. In a recent blog post, the startup said that data updates on all profiles “are automatically retrieved from the SMC directory.” However, the SMC website states that its content cannot be reproduced without the council’s permission.

In a recent clarification note on MOH’s website, the ministry denied all endorsements for the online platform and said it didn’t authorize the retrieval of information from SMC’s website.

The AMS told its members that it had sent a letter to DoctorxDentist, asking the startup to remove all details of its members, including details of their qualifications, practice, and disciplinary record with the SMC.

The SMC has also been collating a list of practitioners who prefer not to be associated with the DoctorxDentist. It is considering making the list, which now includes over 1,000 doctors, publicly accessible.

However, after negotiations with the medical community, DoctorxDentist said it “has made a determined decision not to delist any private doctors” from its platform.

“This decision is ours alone, and was made on a sound legal basis. As a company, we are unable to compromise the quality of our patients’ healthcare journey just because we are told to drop it. This would be in direct contradiction to our belief that healthcare access should be transparent and made available for all,” Tyr Ding, general manager of DoctorxDentist told The Business Times.

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