Hospital Authority Convention 2025 Highlights Innovations in Hong Kong's Healthcare System

Speech by CS at Hospital Authority Convention 2025 (with photo/video)

​Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Hospital Authority Convention 2025 today (May 26):

Vice-minister Cao Xuetao (Vice-minister of the National Health Commission), Henry (Chairman of the Hospital Authority, Mr Henry Fan), Tony (Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am delighted to welcome you to the Hospital Authority Convention 2025.

Over the next three days, more than 190 prominent speakers from around the world will share their knowledge and experience in some 60 sessions, offering intelligence, insight and inspiration for the more than 8 600 healthcare leaders and practitioners here from Hong Kong, the Mainland, throughout Asia and around the world.

For the next few minutes, allow me to tell you about some of the latest developments in Hong Kong's healthcare system, and our commitment to rising as a health and medical innovation hub.

We are advancing collaboration through key projects like the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, and the new Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation.These initiatives aim to elevate our healthcare standards and foster partnerships.

Operating one of the world's largest healthcare systems, the Hospital Authority maintains high standards through a professional and dedicated workforce, a robust management system and an emphasis on continuous reform and enhancement, including the comprehensive application of information technology (IT).

In striving for excellence, the Hospital Authority has made a number of recent breakthroughs.

They include deepening collaboration with the Mainland, from initiating healthcare talent exchanges between hospitals to facilitating cross-boundary use of electronic health records via the territory-wide eHealth platform, as part of the Government's eHealth+ initiatives to build a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure in support of the healthcare reform and the digital transformation of our healthcare sector.

Another area of progress is hospital accreditation.

As put forward under the Chief Executive's Policy Addresses, two Hospital Authority public hospitals were accredited under the China's International Hospital Accreditation Standards in December 2024 and March 2025 respectively.And three more hospitals here will begin the accreditation process this year.

The Hospital Authority, I am pleased to say, is contributing to the internationalisation of China's national hospital accreditation standards, improving overall healthcare quality and benchmarks in the Greater Bay Area.

Turning to technology and smart healthcare, the Hospital Authority has been integrating a wide range of advanced IT, digital technology and AI (artificial intelligence) tools into their healthcare services and facilities to enhance service quality and operational efficiency.

Examples include providing AI support to facilitate data-driven care and developing smart wards, smart clinics and smart pharmacies in hospitals.

To date, the Hospital Authority has implemented more than 45 key Smart Hospital offerings in its hospitals, and other applications are being developed to enhance hospital operation and management.

The Hospital Authority has also implemented various AI applications across different aspects of their services, including assisting in clinical diagnosis, enhancing medication safety, predicting the deterioration risks of patients' conditions, and optimising bed management and non-emergency ambulance services.

To drive research, the upcoming Real-World Study and Application Centre will open up local health and medical databases to support clinical diagnosis and treatment, as well as drug development and public health research, while promoting co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

The Hospital Authority is also supporting research by innovation and technology institutions in Hong Kong Science Park, enabling remote access to data from about 200 000 anonymous patients. This can only accelerate medical innovation, furthering Hong Kong's goal of becoming a healthcare research centre.

Bringing together different areas of expertise from Hong Kong's healthcare sector, the Institute for Medical Advancement and Clinical Excellence was formally established earlier this month.

The Institute's work will include development and promulgation of clinical guidelines in screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of various diseases, as well as evaluation of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of medical options. The Hospital Authority will be very much involved in the Institute's efforts, working with other major healthcare institutions together to enhance the overall quality and effectiveness of medical services in Hong Kong.

I am grateful to the Hospital Authority for once again organising this essential international gathering of healthcare professionals. Grateful, too, for its unwavering efforts in ensuring that Hong Kong's healthcare services and its public hospital system remain high-quality, sustainable and accessible to the public – staying true to its mission of "helping people stay healthy."

I wish you all an inspiring and rewarding Hospital Authority Convention.And for our guests and participants coming from around the world, I am sure you will have a memorable stay here in Hong Kong, Asia's world city.

Thank you.

Speech by CS at Hospital Authority Convention 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CS concludes visit to Beijing

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (April 2) led the delegation of the Working Group on Planning and Construction of the University Town (WG) under the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis to continue their visit to Beijing.

The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, met with Mr Chan and other members of the delegation in the morning. Mr Chan thanked Mr Xia for his care and guidance for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's work on planning and constructing the Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT). He also reported that, in the past three days, the delegation of the WG had visited several places, including the Ningbo Higher Education Park, the Xiasha Higher Education Park in Hangzhou, the Zhejiang University International Campus (Haining), the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, and Xiong'an New Area in Hebei. Through on-site visits to higher education developments in different places, and exchanges with experts and scholars on their successful experiences and development strategies, the delegation gained practical inspiration for the top-level design of the NMUT. This will help advance the deep integration of Hong Kong's academic excellence with industry, promoting industrial development through education. Mr Chan said that the WG will continue to push forward the development of the NMUT with enhanced quality, speed, and efficiency, in proactive alignment with the outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as contribute Hong Kong's strengths to the national goal of building China into a leading country in education, and helping Hong Kong better integrate into and serve the overall national development.

The meeting was attended by the Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xu Qifang. The Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, also reported on her work. The Director of the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office, Miss Linda So, and representatives from the eight University Grants Committee-funded universities attended the meeting together.

Mr Chan and other members of the delegation concluded their visit to Beijing and returned to Hong Kong this afternoon. Dr Choi continued her visit to Beijing this afternoon, and will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (April 3).

CS concludes visit to Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CS concludes visit to Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases