Number of service points for Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme in Guangzhou increases to four
The Government announced today (July 28) that the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine (GPHCM) in Guangzhou will accept eligible Hong Kong elderly persons to use Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs) to pay for outpatient healthcare services at designated departments starting from July 31.
"The GPHCM is the fourth service point in Guangzhou and the second Chinese medicine hospital under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme), providing eligible elderly persons with additional choices in healthcare services. In January 2024, the GPHCM and the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement to promote talent exchange and scientific research collaboration, etc. The GPHCM has been an invaluable partner to Hong Kong in promoting the high-quality development of Chinese medicine," said a Government spokesman. With this additional service point, the number of service points in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Mainland cities where EHCVs can be used will increase to 16, benefitting more than 1.78 million eligible Hong Kong elderly persons. Apart from the GPHCM, the other three service points in Guangzhou are The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; Nansha Division of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, and Guangdong Clifford Hospital.
At the GPHCM, EHCVs are applicable for outpatient healthcare services provided by 10 designated departments, namely the Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck, Department of Stomatology, Department of Orthopedics, Department of Gynecology, Department of Dermatology, Department of Breast, and Department of Acupuncture.
The arrangements for shared use of EHCVs between spouses and the EHCV Pilot Reward Scheme under the EHCV Scheme are equally applicable to the GPHCM. When an elderly person receives designated primary healthcare outpatient services for health checks, preventive health services, and follow-up/monitoring of long-term conditions at the designated departments, the EHCV spending for that service encounter can be accumulated for the allotment of rewards. Further information and patient visit procedures are set out in the Annex.
The fees for the healthcare services provided by the pilot medical institutions are denominated in Renminbi. Medical institutions will make EHCV claims for elderly persons, and the EHCV amount deducted in Hong Kong dollars will be calculated according to a monthly updated voucher conversion factor under the EHCV Scheme. The monthly voucher conversion factor under the EHCV Scheme will be displayed at the cashier offices of the medical institutions for reference by the elderly persons.
"Elderly persons cannot use EHCVs together with national medical insurance to pay for the fees of the same healthcare service encounter. The scope of using EHCVs on the Mainland is the same as that in Hong Kong, which does not include inpatient services, prepaid healthcare services and day surgery procedures. EHCVs cannot be used solely for the purchase of goods, medication, medical equipment or products, nor can they be redeemed for cash," the spokesman reminded.
Hong Kong elderly persons should register with eHealth before using EHCVs at any designated service point in the GBA. To facilitate Hong Kong citizens in using electronic health records (eHRs) across the boundary in a secure manner and to enhance the continuity of healthcare services, the "Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" functions of the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App) will be extended to the GPHCM starting from the service launch day of the Pilot Scheme (i.e. July 31). In addition, elderly persons can also use the eHealth App to check their EHCV balance and usage record, as well as access at any time important information such as their medications, allergies and adverse drug reactions stored in the eHealth App. If elderly persons wish to use EHCVs at the GBA medical institutions but have not yet registered with eHealth, the medical institutions will instantly register them for eHealth upon their consent so that they can use EHCVs right away.
If elderly persons suspect that the participating medical institutions have violated the EHCV Scheme rules, they can call the EHCV Scheme hotline (2838 2311) to provide relevant information and details to the Health Care Voucher Division of the Department of Health (DH). All suspected cases of violation of the EHCV Scheme rules will be strictly dealt with by the DH. Furthermore, each participating GBA medical institution has set up an enquiry and complaint hotline. Elderly persons can also offer their views to the relevant medical institution or file complaints against the medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme to the health authority at the provincial or city level if necessary. Members of the public can visit the following thematic website (www.hcv.gov.hk/en/hcv_gba_pilot_scheme/index.html) for more information.
The Government is actively taking forward the implementation of the Pilot Scheme in the remaining five medical institutions included in the Pilot Scheme. It is expected that the relevant arrangements will be launched gradually in the second half of this year. Together with the two service points operated by the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, eligible elderly persons can use EHCVs at a total of 21 service points in the GBA Mainland cities.
Source: AI-found images
