Eros Coaching is featuring Dr. Tan Kok Kuan about his work as a Medical Doctor.

1)     What do you do?

I am a Medical Doctor trained in Singapore. I practice as a physician out of my clinic at Novena Medical Center and I am also the Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer of a medical group called Dr Tan & Partners (DTAP) Clinics that has clinics in Singapore and Malaysia and are expanding into the region.

We started as a single tiny clinic in Robertson Walk in 2005. At the time, all the beautiful condominiums you see in the area have not yet been built. The area from Robertson Walk to the river was all boarded up for construction. As the community in the area grew, our patient pool and business grew as well.

We focused on providing our patients with the highest standards of primary health care. Often, this saved them unnecessary, costly and inconvenient visits to medical specialists. We saw ourselves as bridging the divide between basic General Practice and Specialists. We coined the term General Practice Plus to describe our unique service.

In 2008, we were appointed as an Anonymous HIV testing clinic by the Ministry of Health. With this opportunity, we emphasized on creating a safe, empathetic and non-judgemental environment for people from all walks of life and all orientations to feel free and unharassed when seeking professional medical advice with regards to their sexual health and fear of HIV and STD infections. In this vein, we also promoted safer and healthier sexual practices.

Riding on these principles of practice, we have expanded our network of clinics in Singapore and also into Malaysia. I envision bringing our brand of quality healthcare in a safe and non-judgemental environment into the region.

2. Why do you do what you do?

As much as it pains me to say so, there are a few bad apples of Doctors out there that spoil the name for the whole barrel.

I have heard from my patients of Doctors to forcibly try to impose their own values on them. Doctors who reprimand them for their sexual activities, Doctors who judge them for their infidelity, Doctors who preach their religion when they learn of the patients’ less than conventional sexual orientation.

Also Doctors who prey on their patients’ fears to line their own pockets by overselling tests and treatments. Doctors who offer treatments that have absolutely no value aside from improving the revenue of the clinic.

And of course there are unscrupulous websites that sell voodoo cures and give nonsensical medical information that only serve to stoke irrational fear and anxiety.

Our patients deserve and have the right to a better standard of not only healthcare but person care. We plan to deliver this to all people not only by expanding our network of like-minded caring Doctors, but also by disseminating quality objective medical information via our website to empower patients to tell the difference between good proper medical advice and shall we say, less than ideal advice.

3. How do you find time for all that?

I have a wonderful team of hardworking medical and non-medical staff. We all share the same vision of real patient care. Not just caring as a job but caring from the heart. They make my life so much easier.

That said, like everyone else, there are many a times when I feel completely overwhelmed. During those times, I just have to try to give every ball a gentle tap so that they all stay in the air until I get back into the juggling rhythm.

4. What are your future plans?

We plan to bring our model of healthcare into the region. We envision a DTAP clinic in all major urban centres in Asia with a similar look and feel and also offering a similar level of care and expertise modelled after our standards in Singapore. We will also offer uniform procedures, processes, materials and competencies in all our clinics so that our patients will have the peace of mind that they will be receiving the same standard of care regardless of their geographical location. We term this the Mcdonaldisation of healthcare.

Leveraging on technology, we will also offer patients a seamless continuity in their medical management as they travel across the region. We can achieve this by allowing for the sharing of medical notes using a cloud based patient record system and simultaneously maintaining patient confidentiality and allowing for efficient communication between our Doctors caring for the same patient with internet telephony systems.

5. Any advice for others?

Advice should only be dispensed when it is backed by sound scientific and clinical evidence.

Always use sunblock. It reduces the risk of skin cancer.

Regular aerobic exercise and maintaining a healthy weight is good for your health.

Do not smoke cigarettes. They are bad for you.

The only sure way of protecting yourself from HIV and STDs is to be in a mutually monogamous relationship. If you are not, correct and consistent condom use will decrease your risks.

I would not be so bold as to dispense advice on how to live one’s life or how to run one’s business except to share my own maxim on life: “Everyone is free to do whatever he/ she so desires as long as it does not harm or inconvenience anyone else.”

Website: www.dtapclinic.com

Corporate Office:
101 Cecil Street, #17-12 Tong Eng Building, Singapore 069533
Telephone: +65 69261678

Our Singapore & Malaysia Clinics: 

@Robertson +65 62387810 | @Bencoolen +65 68844119 | @Novena +65 63972095 | @Scotts +65 66942348 |
@Somerset +65 62620762 | @KL Eco City +60 322022052

Note: I have not vested interest or benefit from interviewing Dr. Tan Kok Kuan. I am doing so in the pure intention to educate and help more people.

About Dr. Martha Tara Lee

Surrounded by friends who were sexually inhibited and struck by dire lack of positive conversations around sex and sexuality in Singapore, Dr. Martha Tara Lee set out to make a positive difference in embarking on her doctorate in human sexuality before launching Eros Coaching in 2009. Today, she remains dedicated to working with individuals and couples who wish to lead self-actualised and pleasure-filled lives.