On 14 Mar 2020, Mr Hugh Mason, an Associate Professor in the Institute of Engineering Leadership at the National University of Singapore, came down with a mild flu. Several weeks later, he was officially diagnosed with COVID-19 and moved to an isolation ward at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Having previously worked as a science filmmaker in the United Kingdom and later as an interim CEO at a Singapore-based oncology clinic, Mason decided to meticulously document his journey as a COVID-19 patient in the Singapore healthcare system. In a recent webinar that he delivered to the regional team at Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, he recounted that journey in detail.

The webinar includes detail of the testing and treatment protocols that Mason experienced during his initial diagnosis, as well as his time in isolation and quarantine. It also sheds light on the emotions and personal factors that COVID-19 patients can face as they are processed through the Singapore healthcare system.

One unique feature of the system is that Singapore citizens and permanent residents can access their lab results and health records via the country’s national HealthHub application, a centralised platform for health information and e-services. Mason’s talk included screenshots of the application and how he used it, providing insight on an emerging trend of patient empowerment and engagement with health information.

Mason also spoke about his experience with serology tests after he was discharged from quarantine. As an engineer and tinkerer, he decided to try out a do-it-yourself antibody test that a friend purchased online. He also participated in a formal research study that was affiliated with a professional lab operation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the do-it-yourself test produced questionable results.

“There will be an enormous number of cowboy operators moving into this space in the next few months,” he warned. “They’re going to be playing on people’s fears…but the number of false results is going to be huge.”