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Speech by Secretary for Health and Welfare (English only)

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Following is a speech by Secretary for Health and Welfare,Dr E K Yeoh, at the Opening Ceremony of the Family Medicine Training Centre at Prince of Wales Hospital today (May 4):

Dr Li, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am most delighted to be invited to address this distinguished gathering today which marks the exciting event of the formation of the Family Medicine Training Centre of the Prince of Wales Hospital.

The Changing Epidemiology and Changing Role of Practitioners

During the past decades, Hong Kong has experience its epidemiological transition of mortality and morbidity pattern. Instead of severe acute infections, doctors are now faced mostly with chronic diseases and disabilities, psychosocial problems and a different range of infectious diseases. This new pattern presents a new challenge for practitioners. Infections are mostly acute and patients live with it for only a relatively short period of time. In contrast, someone suffering from chronic illnesses will be engaged in prolonged struggle to adapt to his environment. And often, today's practitioners are helping patients to achieve a new equilibrium with his environment in the face of chronic illnesses and disability.

The Role of Family Physicians in Individual Patient Care

Family physicians have a central role to play in managing these disorders, which call for an understanding of the patient, his family and environment; and involve situations with complex combination of physical and behavioural factors. The discipline, through providing continuity of care, would gain knowledge of the patients and their family and develop a trusting, long-term relationship with their patients. This is proven to be an effective therapeutic and diagnostic tool particularly in handling illnesses with complex psychosomatioc element. Their comprehensive and holistic approach in delivery of care also ensures biological factor of an illness is not treated in separation from the behavioural, social and psychological perspectives. It has been shown that this mode of service delivery is often associated with not only better health outcome but also improved patient satisfaction.

Besides, the family physician, acting as the coordinator of care for individual patient, can identify other health resources as needed for the patient. They will ensure that those with conditions requiring secondary or even tertiary care accessible to the required services. He can act as a good guide to the patient through the health care system in order to avoid any delay in or inappropriate treatment, and unnecessary costs incurred, which may result from patient's self-referral.

The Role of Family Practice in the Public Health Perspective

In a population perspective, it is recognised that investing in primary medical care, including family medicine practice, will yield improved patient outcome and population health indicators. When effectively carried out, it can act as a gatekeeper to the relatively more expensive secondary and tertiary care and often result in a lower overall expenditure on health care. Primary care and the practice of family medicine are the essential features of an efficient and effective health care system.

I believed that the effectiveness of primary medical care of Hong Kong should be enhanced by the promotion and adoption of family medicine practice. We have proposed, in the consultation document on health care reform issued last December, to promote the practice of family medicine through providing more training opportunities.

I am pleased to see that the Prince of Wales Hospital is taking active steps towards this direction. Here, I would like to congratulate the establishment of your Centre and I am sure that the training provided would benefits not only trainees of the Centre but also the health of the local community.

Lastly, I commend staff of the training centre for their fine effort in establishing the centre and their enthusiasm in providing quality care to the people of Hong Kong.

Thank you.

End/Friday, May 4, 2001

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