arjunjbsriram

Unethical and potentially illegal

Highly unethical way of operating for a healthcare company.... very shameful

I paid $114 for a consultation and 1 tube of Eczema medicine, which the doctor prescribed to me. I urgently needed this medicine which is why I paid a slight premium to order from Siena compared to other options- on the basis that I'd get a prescription straight away and the medicine within 1 or 2 days, per the check out page...

Shortly after I had checked out and paid for my medicine, which I urgently needed, I was informed they were out of stock of this, and they would only be restocked in 1 week. Why did they not check this and inform to me at an earlier stage before I paid them? If I had known that they were not going to be able to meet their service delivery standards, I would not have paid a premium for their service.

Secondly, and this action by the company is highly unethical and potentially in violation of the law, after I found this out, I asked them to send me my prescription so I could purchase the medicine elsewhere. The 'prescription' that they have on the website for the patient to access does not contain the patients particulars and is therefore not suitable to be used elsewhere to purchase prescription medicine. They told me they do not provide prescriptions for external use....
A prescription is a legal document issued by an MOH approved doctor which states they believe a patient requires use of a controlled medicine to improve their condition... Obviously, I needed the medicine urgently, and they should have released this to me as doing so would be in the interests of my health.A medical business must absolutely have the health of patients top of mind. By withholding documentation that would allow me to purchase medically necessary medicine, despite a doctor having written the prescription on the basis of me needing it, they seem to be violating SMCs principle of 'upholding patients best interests as top consideration'.

The ironic thing is, my NSC doctor previously, which is a public healthcare facility which is cheaper, actually gave me good tips on where I can source the medicine I need, including the info of some external providers, on the basis that widening access to medicine was in my best interests as a patient, even if it wasn't from them. The fact that Siena, despite charging more, has such low regard for SMC principles and the best interests of the patients is not acceptable.

Overall, this is a really unacceptable business practice. If you are out of stock of a medicine, tell me before taking my money- I paid for delivery within 2 days, not 9 days+. If you are not able to deliver me the medicine I need within a quick timeframe, at least give me my full prescription (with IC number, name, etc) so that I can source my medically prescribed eczema medicine elsewhere.
Absolutely shameful and disgusting.