eHealth App Now Allows Users to Access Laboratory Records for Better Health Management

eHealth App enhances function for viewing laboratory reports from healthcare providers

The Health Bureau (HHB) announced today (January 9) that eHealth users can now view laboratory records of general routine check-ups deposited in their eHealth accounts by the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health through the "Investigations" function of the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App), allowing citizens to better understand and manage their health. Users can generally view the laboratory reports in the App 14 days after the reports are released, and the App's information centre will also issue relevant notifications.

The HHB also continues to collaborate with private healthcare providers (HCPs) to build comprehensive medical records for citizens. Currently, a total of 75 healthcare service locations in private hospitals, laboratories and medical group practices are technically ready to deposit citizens' laboratory reports into eHealth. If citizens have given "sharing consent" to relevant private HCPs, their laboratory reports can then be deposited in their eHealth accounts for access through the App, so that they can take better control of their own health conditions. This also enables other authorised healthcare professionals to view the reports through the eHealth system for follow-up care.

A spokesman for the HHB said, "Under the eHealth+ development, we are committed to building a personal lifelong electronic health record (eHR) profile for every citizen and creating a patient-centric, one-stop comprehensive health portal through the eHealth

App to help citizens manage their health records, access health information, monitor personal health and establish a healthier lifestyle. With the further enhancement of the App's 'Investigations' function, laboratory reports of citizens from both public and private HCPs, as well as those from various government-subsidised healthcare programmes (including the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme and the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme), are consolidated in their eHealth accounts. Citizens can access the reports anytime and anywhere when necessary, eliminating the inconvenience of storing paper reports and saving costs on redundant tests. This also facilitates authorised HCPs in conducting analysis and comparison, thereby providing a seamless and personalised care journey for citizens."

Since the launch of the eHealth App in 2021, the Government has progressively expanded the health records available for citizens to view in the App. Currently, eHealth users can access nine types of eHRs through the App, namely, personal identification and demographic data, allergies and adverse drug reactions, encounters and appointments, immunisation records, medication records, laboratory reports, healthcare referrals, observation and lifestyle records, as well as medical certificates. Users can also make use of the App's "Health Management" function to view certain health data (e.g. blood pressure, blood glucose, heart rate and body weight) inputted by themselves or taken at self-service eHealth stations at designated District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses. In the future, the Government will continue to gradually make more health records available for viewing in the App, including radiology reports, radiology images, Chinese medicine allergies and adverse drug reactions, as well as Chinese medicine prescription records.

In addition, the Government has been taking a multipronged approach to encourage the private healthcare sector to deposit citizens' eHRs into eHealth and establish a comprehensive, complete and personalised eHR profile for them, in order to assist citizens and their HCPs to make informed decisions, respond to the health needs of citizens more effectively, and provide more precise diagnoses. Among these initiatives, the Government launched the eHealth Adoption Sponsorship Pilot Scheme in 2023 by partnering with Clinical Management System (CMS) solution vendors and medical groups to conduct system enhancements, allowing private HCPs to seamlessly deposit medical records into eHealth directly through their original CMS.

The spokesman for the HHB said, "The pilot scheme has yielded positive results. This year, we will expand the scheme to include more CMS solution vendors, medical groups and other sectors, including Chinese medicine. We also plan to launch an eHealth+ accreditation scheme to enable members of the public to easily identify if an HCP has the capability to deposit health records into patients' personalised eHealth accounts."

The Government announced the rollout of the eHealth+ five-year plan in the 2023 Policy Address, with a view to transforming eHealth into a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure that integrates multiple functions of healthcare data sharing, service delivery and care journey management. eHealth+ aims to bring about a more seamless and personalised care journey for every citizen and facilitate care co-ordination and cross-sector collaboration, as well as health management and health surveillance, thus enabling citizens to enjoy higher-quality healthcare services while effectively supporting various healthcare policies.

For more information, citizens may visit the eHealth thematic website (app.ehealth.gov.hk/index.html?lang=en) or call the hotline at 3467 6300. The hotline service runs from 9am to 9pm from Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays).

Arrangement for the collection and recycling of waste plastics

​The "Pilot Scheme on Collection and Recycling Services of Plastic Recyclable Materials" (Pilot Scheme) of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) will conclude on January 18 this year. The EPD announced today (January 9) the latest arrangements on the collection and recycling of waste plastics.

A spokesman for the EPD said: "Since there is duplication of resources with regard to plastics recycling between the Pilot Scheme and the GREEN@COMMUNITY, it is decided to conclude the Pilot Scheme on January 18, and relevant plastics recycling services will be taken over by the GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling network of respective districts."

The spokesman said, "Apart from reducing duplicated work, future GREEN@COMMUNITY operators may pass the collected plastics to any EPD-approved recyclers for handling, rather than merely the three designated recyclers under the Pilot Scheme, allowing for an open competitive market for the recycling industry, reducing the costs of collection and recycling waste plastics."

The Pilot Scheme commenced in the Eastern, Kwun Tong and Sha Tin districts in January 2020, and was extended to the Tai Po, Sai Kung, Central and Western, Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun districts in January 2022. Its work includes complementing with public education, driving people's behavioural change, enhancing public confidence in waste plastics recycling, collecting non-commercial and non-industrial waste plastics in nine districts and collecting waste plastics from three of these districts.

Since end 2020, the Government has gradually expanded the GREEN@COMMUNITY, whose work is to enhance public education on recycling as a whole, drive people's behavioural change, reinforce public confidence in recycling, and start establishing a recycling network across 18 districts to provide recycling services to housing estates for the collection of nine types of recyclables, including waste plastics. There is duplication in various aspects between the work of GREEN@COMMUNITY and the Pilot Scheme.

Under the new arrangements, not only will the plastics collection services for housing estates under the Pilot Scheme remain unaffected, the GREEN@COMMUNITY operators can also liaise with these housing estates for more flexible collection services for plastics, as well as other recyclables, enhancing the cost-effectiveness, with an estimated cost reduction of about 24 per cent as compared with the Pilot Scheme.

Looking forward, the Government will introduce a licensing scheme through the bill on establishing a common legislative framework for producer responsibility schemes to regulate plastic recyclers with regard to the types of waste plastics to be treated, treatment methods, recycling and disposal quantities, environmental impacts etc., to urge the recycling industry to aim for high-quality development as a goal and convert more waste into valuable resources. The relevant bill will be submitted to the Legislative Council for scrutiny in the first half of this year.

Arrangement for the collection and recycling of waste plastics Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Arrangement for the collection and recycling of waste plastics Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases