Section 31B of the HCSA was promulgated to ensure that consumers are not misled by healthcare service advertisement into thinking that a person who uses the “Dr” title is a mainstream registered medical or dental practitioner.

This is in response to feedback received against non-medical practitioners practising at non-licensed healthcare premises for allegedly misleading members of public with the use of the title, “Dr”.

Requirements under Section 31B of the HCSA applies only to advertisements and is not applicable to context outside of advertisements.

The requirements under Section 31B of the HCSA do not apply to settings outside the context of advertisements, for example:

• A clinical psychologist who uses the title “Dr” in a psychology class at an Institute of Higher Learning.

• A podiatrist who publishes a paper in the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ) or The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and uses the title “Dr”.