"Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" functions of eHealth to be extended to two dental institutions under Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme starting from this Thursday
The Health Bureau (HHB) announced today (December 17) that the functions of the "Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" in the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App) will be extended to the two dental institutions in Shenzhen under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme, namely, Shenzhen C.K.J Stomatological Hospital (CKJSH) and Dental Bauhinia Specialty Service Center (Shenzhen)/Dental Bauhinia General Care Center (Shenzhen) starting from this Thursday (December 19). In other words, the two functions will fully cover all medical institutions providing integrated services and dental services under the Pilot Scheme starting from the day after tomorrow, with a view to enhancing the continuity of medical care for Hong Kong citizens through facilitating their secure and convenient use of electronic health records (eHRs) across the boundary.
Starting from this Thursday, eligible elderly persons who plan to use Elderly Health Care Vouchers to seek medical consultations at the two aforementioned dental institutions can apply for their eHRs deposited in eHealth over the past three years through the "Cross-boundary Health Record" function in advance. Upon verification of an elderly person's authorisation, a "File QR Code" and "Password QR Code" will be sent to the elderly person via the eHealth App. Healthcare professionals can then access and browse the relevant eHRs by scanning the two QR codes presented by the elderly person at the time of consultation at relevant dental institutions to assist in diagnoses and treatment. The verification of applications and preparation for eHRs take no more than 24 hours. Elderly persons should submit their applications one day prior to their consultations at the relevant dental institutions to ensure that their eHRs will be ready for use at the time of the consultations.
Moreover, elderly persons can deposit medical-related records obtained during consultations received in medical institutions outside Hong Kong into their eHealth personal accounts through the "Personal Folder" function to facilitate storage and use of personal medical-related records obtained in and outside Hong Kong, including access by authorised healthcare providers in Hong Kong through eHealth during follow-up consultations.
The HHB has already set up support stations at the Shenzhen New Frontier United Family Hospital (NFUFH) and CKJSH to assist Hong Kong citizens in better understanding how to use the relevant functions. Citizens may visit the eHealth thematic website for more information.
The Government piloted the new "Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" functions of the eHealth App at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital in July this year; and extended the functions to the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine; Nansha Division of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; Dongguan Tungwah Hospital; and NFUFH under the Pilot Scheme from September. The feedback has been positive. Taking into account the implementation experience, the Government will further streamline the workflow and enhance the user experience in a bid to support citizens' cross-boundary healthcare needs in a more effective manner.
Remarks by CE at media session before ExCo (with video)
Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (December 17):
Reporter: Good morning. Two questions. Can you share any tourist data since restrictions on Shenzhen residents visiting Hong Kong were lifted about two weeks ago, and what's the expectation for tourist arrivals over Christmas and New Year? And also, a public consultation on the upcoming financial Budget is now under way, so what expectations do you have for the Financial Secretary in tackling the rising deficit? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The resumption of multiple-entry visits for visitors from Shenzhen is seeing very good returns of tourists from the Mainland, particularly from Shenzhen. We can see the rise in figures of tourists, particularly over the weekend, which regularly sees an increase of between 20 and 30 per cent. I think this trend will continue, particularly when we will have Christmas and New Year coming very soon, and we will have a fireworks display for the countdown. We have to get fully prepared for this opportunity. With the increase in the number of tourists coming to Hong Kong from different parts of the world, in particular those from Shenzhen, we have to ensure that, first of all, we will treat them nicely, so that they all have a good experience and will think of coming back. I have already seen different sectors having already rolled out measures and indicated that they will be grasping these golden opportunities to ensure that tourists will be well taken care of and that they will do more businesses.
For the Government, we will ensure that the whole arrangement for tourists to come to Hong Kong will be orderly and safe, and that it will be a pleasant experience, particularly when they go through the boundary control points. We have already started the inter-departmental mechanism – particularly, the Chief Secretary for Administration has already organised a high-level meeting on Thursday to take care of all the transportation and boundary-crossing point arrangements. The proposed arrangements include ensuring that the Shenzhen Bay Port will be open 24 hours, that the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port will operate 24 hours smoothly with sufficient manpower and transportation arrangements, and that the Lo Wu Control Point will be open up to 2am, so as to allow visitors from the Mainland who may have to cross the boundary after the fireworks display to be able to do it conveniently. In the event that they cannot meet the 2am closing time, we have already arranged special transportation between Sheung Shui and San Tin for their use of the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port. We will be on high alert for the different arrangements. The Lo Wu Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre will be in operation, so will the Security Bureau's Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre, as well as the Transport Department's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre - they will all be in operation, and particularly the Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will be in operation 24 hours.
The Government has been in liaison with different organisations, particularly those in the transportation and tourism industry, to ensure that everybody is ready and geared up, so as to make sure that things will happen smoothly, in an orderly manner, and safely to ensure the best experience for our visitors. All business sectors should grasp this opportunity to ensure that we will be having a very good Christmas and New Year arrangement for both visitors as well as Hong Kong people.
Regarding the Budget, the consultation has started this Sunday (December 15), and a lot of advice and opinions have already been provided. The Financial Secretary has been doing the Budget consultation for a number of years, and he will, of course, be taking serious attention to all the opinions and suggestions that are raised and examine the pros and cons, and also the reasoning and thinking behind, so as to ensure that the eventual Budget will satisfy the overall needs of Hong Kong. Yes, we have a budget deficit, but already we have said that we will try to increase income and also reduce expenditure as well, and promote economic growth, so the businesses will make more money, as a result of which the Government will also have more income. I am sure that the Financial Secretary will be paying heed to the different opinions and analyse all the opinions very objectively and thoroughly to ensure that the best Budget is prepared for Hong Kong.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
