Health Officials from Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao Meet to Enhance Medical Cooperation in Dunhuang

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to attend the 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao hosted by the National Health Commission (NHC) in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, today (August 29).

The Joint Meeting has long been a platform for senior medical and health officials as well as experts from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to exchange views, share experiences and enhance co-operation on present-day medical and public health issues. The Joint Meeting is hosted by the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in rotation.

The Minister of the NHC, Mr Lei Haichao, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government, Ms Ao Ieong U, led respectively senior health officials from the Mainland and the Macao SAR Government to participate in the Joint Meeting. Members of the three delegations engaged in sharing and discussions over three major topics, namely review of the COVID-19 epidemic and the way forward for prevention and control of infectious diseases, advancing innovation and development in healthcare technology, and strengthening primary healthcare services today.

Professor Lo said, "The country has been providing unwavering support to the Hong Kong SAR Government's healthcare efforts, enabling us to forge ahead towards high-quality development against challenges. Following the success of hosting the Joint Meeting in Hong Kong last year, the Hong Kong SAR Government has been making progressive developments in various healthcare reform initiatives on all fronts, and these efforts are starting to bear fruit.

"Since the announcement of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub in the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address, the Government has been actively taking forward a number of initiatives, including strengthening the capacity of drug evaluation of the Hong Kong SAR and progressing toward a primary evaluation approach, as well as the establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) International Clinical Trial Institute in the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone within this year to develop clinical trials in collaboration with the Shenzhen Park under the 'one zone, two parks' model."

On cross-boundary medical collaboration, the Hong Kong SAR Government has been enhancing co-operation with Mainland cities and Macao under the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits and on the premise of benefitting the development of healthcare systems of Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao. Taking the past three months as an example, cross-boundary medical collaboration has been making good progress, with concrete achievements being made every month.

(1) Starting from June this year, the coverage of the Elderly Health Care Voucher has been extended to five medical and dental services institutions in Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Shenzhen under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme, and will be further extended to two medical institutions in Dongguan and Nansha early next month.

(2) In July this year, the Hong Kong SAR Government piloted two new functions of the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth) mobile application, namely "Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital. Under the overarching principles of ensuring due compliance of laws and regulations of both places and that data security and patients' privacy are fully safeguarded, the new functions enable citizens to carry their electronic health records for cross-boundary uses, with a view to receiving more accurate diagnosis and treatment. The two functions will be extended to the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University and Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine starting September 6.

(3) On August 23 this year, the Hong Kong SAR Government, in collaboration with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, conducted a drill simulating the transfer of patients under the cross-boundary ambulance arrangement. The direct point-to-point transfer of suitable patients between hospitals in Hong Kong and Shenzhen by ambulance can avoid the handover of patients between ambulances at boundary control points, thereby reducing medical risks.

In the afternoon, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, moderated the discussion on the topic of advancing innovation and development in healthcare technology, with Deputy Secretary for Health Ms Elaine Mak giving a presentation. Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, gave a presentation on the topic of strengthening primary healthcare services.

The Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan, and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, also joined the Hong Kong SAR Government delegation.

Professor Lo and his delegation visited the Zhuanqukou Community Health Center of Dunhuang City and the Disease Control and Prevention Center of Dunhuang City yesterday (August 28) to get a better grasp of the latest healthcare developments and primary healthcare work in Dunhuang.

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health attends 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in Dunhuang Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Health Bureau launches "e+ Life" health challenge platform under eHealth and officially rolls out "e+ Go to Park" game

The Health Bureau (HHB) launched the new "e+ Life" health challenge platform under eHealth and rolled out officially today (September 14) its very first health challenge, the "e+ Go to Park" game, to encourage members of the public to develop healthy habits by actively participating in health challenges. Over 100 primary and secondary school students as well as parents tried out the "e+ Go to Park" game and took part in a series of healthy activities at the launch ceremony for an energising weekend.

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, "Over 6 million citizens have registered with eHealth to date since its launch in 2016, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the Hong Kong population. The eHealth mobile application (eHealth app) has also recorded more than 3.4 million downloads. We put forward the 'eHealth+' five-year plan last year to capitalise on the solid foundation of eHealth and make further enhancements through new functions with a view to better embracing the development of healthcare technologies in the future and enabling citizens to safeguard their well-being in a more effective manner for them to take up the primary responsibility for their own health. The Government is making every effort to develop the eHealth app into a single portal for citizens to manage health records of their own and their family members, gain access to health information, facilitate personal health monitoring and establish a healthier lifestyle, serving as a healthcare piggy bank for all.

"To encourage citizens to form healthy habits, the new 'e+ Life' health challenge platform is specially launched under 'eHealth+' to allow eHealth users to join various health challenges, log their daily exercises and accumulate health coins by interfacing with tracking applications. The first health challenge, i.e. the 'e+ Go to Park' rolled out today primarily targets students. According to the Student Health Service Annual Health Report for 2022-23 school year by the Department of Health (DH), around 90 per cent of students reported an insufficient level of physical activity, which in turn correlates with issues such as obesity, social and mental health among students. We hope to leverage the various game modes of 'e+ Go to Park', including individual, family, and school challenges, to encourage students to head outdoors with their parents and friends, and enjoy the fun of playing games and exercising together, thereby improving their physical and mental health."

The "e+ Go to Park" is introduced by the HHB in collaboration with the Education Bureau, the DH and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). Participants can access the "e+ Go to Park" game for free by logging in the "e+ Life" platform through the eHealth app. The game is set in the backstory of rescuing "Sports Babies" from outer space. Players are tasked to search for and capture different virtual characters and collectibles in real life at over 200 designated parks managed by the LCSD to replenish enough "sports energy" for fuelling the trip back home for the "Sports Babies". Players need to capture energy targets around different corners of the parks in person, allowing them to work out while gaming. In addition, a number of special edition virtual characters and collectibles featuring the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China will be introduced in October for players to capture. Citizens may visit the thematic website of the eHealth app (app.ehealth.gov.hk/elife-overview) for more details of the "e+ Life" platform and the "e+ Go to Park" game.

At the launch ceremony, about 10 students debuted the dance performance for the theme song entitled "e+ Move it Up" which was specially composed for the "e+ Life" platform. Professor Lo also had a taste of the "e+ Go to Park" game and participated in activities at several sports booths together with students. The event featured a variety of entertaining programmes and health activities, including sports booths of stretching exercise, dodgebee and rope skipping, the "e+ Support Station" for weight and blood pressure measurements as well as blood sugar testing, Chinese Medicine health consultation services, and storytelling sessions with interactive picture books for children's health education.

More health challenges will be introduced on the "e+ Life" platform. Among them, the DH will roll out a walking challenge under the "10 000 Steps a Day" campaign this November to raise public awareness of the health benefits of walking, encourage people to engage in more physical activities and support their family members or friends to integrate the habit of walking 10 000 steps a day into daily life.

The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee; Deputy Secretary for Education Mr Edward To; the Deputy Director of Health, Dr Teresa Li; Assistant Director (Leisure Services) of the LCSD Mr Henry Wong; and Acting Assistant Director of Home Affairs, Mr Gavin Yeung, also attended the launch ceremony.

"The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address" put forward the "eHealth+" five-year plan to transform eHealth into a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure that integrates multiple functions of data sharing, service support and care journey management through the launch of nine new functions (including "e+ Life"). At present, parents can easily deposit, access and manage their children's health records in the eHealth App, including all records of vaccination received at Maternal and Child Health Centres since 2007 and at primary schools across the city since 2013 under the DH's Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, as well as allergies or adverse drug reactions records. Moreover, the "Child Growth Record" function of the eHealth app has adopted the updated Hong Kong 2020 Growth References to help parents monitor the growth of their children.

Citizens may register as an eHealth user online through the "iAM Smart" mobile application, or by visiting any of the 18 designated post offices, over 70 eHealth registration centres located in different districts and eHealth mobile registration stations; as well as the various District Health Centres to register as members and activate eHealth accounts. A default consent arrangement was also made on the system to register participating citizens of government-subsidised vaccination schemes with eHealth as a streamlined registration procedure. Citizens may visit the eHealth websitefor more details on eHealth registration.

Source: AI-generated images