Government to Extend Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of Hospital Authority in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Government to extend Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of Hospital Authority in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

The Health Bureau announced today (March 31) the extension of the Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of the Hospital Authority in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Pilot Scheme) for one year until March 31 next year, with a view to enabling eligible patients of the Hospital Authority (HA), i.e. patients with scheduled follow-up appointments at designated Specialist Out-patient Clinics or Family Medicine Clinics of the HA, to choose to receive subsidised consultation services at the designated collaborating healthcare institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Launched on May 10, 2023, the Pilot Scheme aims to provide an additional service option for eligible HA patients, and is currently applicable to the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH). As of end-February this year, more than 6 000 eligible patients have participated in the Pilot Scheme, with more than 60percent being elderly aged 65 or above. According to a patient survey conducted by the HKU-SZH in November last year, over 90 per cent of the respondents found its services satisfactory. The Government and the HA will evaluate the effectiveness and scope of services of the Pilot Scheme each year and make necessary adjustments in a timely manner.

Under the extended Pilot Scheme, if an eligible HA patient incurs a medical fee of RMB100 or above for each consultation received at the designated out-patient clinic of the HKU-SZH, the patient (except for specified persons who are medical fee waiver holders as verified by the HA) will be required to co-pay RMB100, while the remaining medical fee will be subsidised by the Pilot Scheme, subject to a cap of RMB2,000 per year. The validity period of the relevant subsidy is from tomorrow (April 1) to March 31 next year.

The scope of subsidised consultation services under the Pilot Scheme will continue to cover out-patient services provided by the HA, namely anaesthesiology (pain clinic only); cardiothoracic surgery; clinical oncology; ear, nose and throat; eye; gynaecology; internal medicine; neurosurgery; obstetrics; orthopaedics and traumatology (orthopaedics); paediatrics; surgery; and family medicine out-patient services. Episodic illnesses, inpatient or day inpatient, as well as Accident and Emergency services are not included under the scope of subsidised consultation services. Eligible HA patients are required to attend at the service departments of the HKU-SZH that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have medical follow-up to receive subsidised consultation services.

Existing patients of the Pilot Scheme who wish to continue participating in the Scheme may make appointments through the existing channels whereby the HKU-SZH will make appointments at the departments that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have follow-up appointments. They should also complete the declaration to confirm continued participation at the HKU-SZH before receiving any subsidised consultation services. For patients who wish to cease participation in the Pilot Scheme and return to Hong Kong for follow-up consultations at the out-patient clinics of the HA, they may approach the HKU-SZH and the hospital will make a referral for them to arrange follow-up appointments at the corresponding out-patient clinics of the HA according to their clinical needs.

As for eligible HA patients who have not participated in the Pilot Scheme before or those who have joined the Scheme but need to have their personal information updated, they may submit their application to the HKU-SZH from tomorrow.

All HA patients participating in the Pilot Scheme are required to register with eHealth. Prior to their consultations at the HKU-SZH, patients may, as necessary, apply for their electronic health records deposited in eHealth over the past three years through the "Cross-boundary Health Record" function on the eHealth mobile application and authorise healthcare professionals to access such records during consultations to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. After consultations, patients may also use the "Personal Folder" function to deposit their medical records from the HKU-SZH to their personal eHealth account for centralised storage and usage, including allowing authorised Hong Kong healthcare institutions to access during follow-up care.

Details will be uploaded to the websites of the HA and the HKU-SZH later for public reference. For enquiries, citizens may also call the HA (Tel: 2300 7070; Service Hours: 9am - 6pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays) or the HKU-SZH (Tel: (+86) 0755-86913101; Service Hours: 8am - 12.30pm and 2pm - 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays).

The Hospital Authority (HA), Photo source: reference image

Speech by CE at Fourth Edition of Women Power Forum

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the Fourth Edition of Women Power Forum today (April 1):

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to join you, today, for the fourth Women Power Forum, delighted to be here among so many esteemed female leaders and distinguished guests.

They say women hold up half the sky, and in today's Hong Kong, that is exactly what we see.

In the private sector, a growing number of listed companies now have a good number of female directors, and women's participation in corporate leadership continues to rise. In the professional world, more than half of our accountants and lawyers are women. And within the Government, eight out of 15 directors of bureaux, along with the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, are women. Forty-nine per cent of our civilian civil servants are also women.

In short, women are both the leaders and the backbone of our economy and our government. Hong Kong is clearly far better because of it, because of the women of Hong Kong. Very proud of you all.

Hong Kong's achievements stand as a powerful testament to our unwavering commitment to women's development and gender equality.

We champion these goals because we recognise a fundamental truth: that women's progress is not just a women's issue; it is a shared responsibility, one that benefits everyone. In Hong Kong and around the world.

That's why the theme of this year's Women Power Forum is "Women Across Nations: Unite to Prosper." Working together, we can continue to drive progress, locally, regionally and globally.

I wish you all a rewarding Forum and, for those of you here from outside Hong Kong, an enjoyable stay in the world's rising East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Thank you.

Source: AI-found images