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Health

In the second quarter of 2019, the Hospital Authority launched the Glaucoma Public-Private Partnership Programme on a pilot basis to subsidise clinically stable glaucoma patients under the care of its eye specialist outpatient clinics in the Hong Kong West, Kowloon Central and New Territories East clusters to opt for specialist care from the private sector. Sixty-one private ophthalmologists and 577 patients were participating in the programme as at end-2019.

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 and developing a Patient Portal to help patients manage their health more proactively, and is expected to be completed by end-2022.

As at end-2019, around 1.22 million residents and over 1,800 organisations, including all 12 private hospitals, private clinics, elderly homes and welfare groups, had registered in addition to the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health. About 50,000 accounts had been created for healthcare professionals working under these healthcare providers to use the system, comprising about 12,900 created for doctors, 31,100 for nurses, 570 for dentists and 4,700 for other professionals specified under the Electronic Health Record Sharing System Ordinance.

Genomic Medicine

In December, the Steering Committee on Genomic Medicine submitted a report to the government on the study of strategies for developing genomic medicine in Hong Kong.

Chinese Medicine

As announced in the 2019 Policy Address, more recurrent resources will be devoted to develop Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. In September, tenders were invited from non-profit-making organisations to operate a Chinese medicine hospital. A $500 million Chinese Medicine Development Fund was launched in mid-2019 to enhance overall industry standards, including nurturing talent, promoting research and enhancing the public's knowledge of Chinese medicine.

At the district level, 18 Chinese medicine centres for training and research promote the development of evidence-based Chinese medicine and provide training placements for graduates of local Chinese medicine bachelor's degree programmes under a tripartite collaboration model involving the Hospital Authority, NGOs and local universities. Starting from March 2020, the government will subsidise up to 620,000 places annually for general consultation, tuina and acupuncture services at these centres, so patients pay only a standard fee of $120 per visit. There were about 1.1 million attendances in 2019. Private Chinese medicine clinics record about eight million attendances each year.

Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine Pilot Programme

The Hospital Authority is developing integrated Chinese-Western medicine (ICWM) inpatient services at designated public hospitals, with the objectives of using ICWM to provide better patient care, gain experience in developing Chinese medicine inpatient services, and facilitate

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