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Health
Private Hospitals
Private hospitals complement the public sector by providing a range of specialist and hospital services. The 12 private hospitals served 376,135 inpatients in 2019, representing 17 per cent of the city's total number of inpatients. Spending on private inpatient services amounted to $26.3 billion in 2018-19, accounting for 38 per cent of overall expenditure on public and private inpatient services.
End-of-life Care
In September 2019, the government launched a public consultation on legislative proposals about advance directives and dying in place, both of which are important measures to respect the healthcare choice of a person who is approaching the end of life.
Major Developments
Public Hospital Development Projects
In 2020, the expansion of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Headquarters was substantially completed. Demolition and substructure works for the expansion of United Christian Hospital were also completed and the main works began. Other new or ongoing projects included main works for phase 1 redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital and for phases 2 and 3 of Kwai Chung Hospital; preparatory and foundation works for phase 1 redevelopment of Grantham Hospital, phase 2 stage 1 redevelopment of Prince of Wales Hospital and the construction of a new acute hospital at the Kai Tak Development Area; and preparatory works for the redevelopment of Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital, and the expansion of North District Hospital and Lai King Building in Princess Margaret Hospital.
Public-private Partnership Programmes
The government takes part in clinical public-private partnership programmes through the Hospital Authority. Services include cataract surgery, patient empowerment, haemodialysis, radiological investigation, infirmary services, colon assessment and glaucoma treatment.
The Hospital Authority's General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership Programme subsidises clinically stable patients with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus under the care of its general outpatient clinics to opt for primary care from the private sector. As at 31 December, 576 private doctors and 38,416 patients were participating in the programme.
Sharing of Electronic Health Records
The territory-wide Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) allows public and private healthcare providers to view and share the electronic health records of consenting patients. Stage 2 development of the eHRSS includes widening the sharable scope of data to include Chinese medicine information and radiological images, and developing a mobile app (eHealth) to help patients manage their health more proactively. It is expected to be completed by end-2022.
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