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New billing system extends to more public hospitals
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (June 27) announced that it will launch the second phase of the revamped Patient Billing and Revenue Collection System on July 8 to bring greater convenience to more public hospital patients.

     Following the smooth changeover in the first phase in Queen Mary Hospital of Hong Kong West Cluster (HKWC) and all hospitals in Kowloon Central Cluster earlier this year, the system will be extended to all other public hospitals in HKWC as well as Kowloon West Cluster and Prince of Wales Hospital in New Territories East Cluster.

     The HA spokesman appealed for public understanding for possible incidence of slight delays and subsequent bill adjustments required that may happen in the 20 hospitals (see notes) being upgraded in the first two phases of system changeover.

     "The system changeover will start on July 1 and will take one week to complete. While settlement can still be made as usual from July 1 to 7, calculation of hospital charges will revert to manual operation. Patients discharged during that period will be updated for any adjustments needed when the system resumes full operation on July 8," the spokesman said.

     The three-phase implementation, to be completed in 2013-14, will ensure smooth transition of the HA-wide billing system, which handles over 1 million patient discharges each year.

     "Upon implementation of the new system in all public hospitals, charges in all hospitals and treatment episodes for an individual patient within the billing period can be consolidated in a single bill and be settled at any hospital shroff, alongside other payment methods such as those via 7-Eleven convenience stores and Internet banking services," the spokesman explained.

     The newly introduced monthly summary statement will also provide patients with a concise overview of all unsettled bills for services used in any public hospital.

     "An information video and poster have been produced to keep the public informed and help them understand the key features of the new billing system," the spokesman added.

(Notes)

     Manual billing operation in the following public hospitals during system changeover from July 1 to 7:

Hong Kong West Cluster
* Queen Mary Hospital
* The Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital
* Grantham Hospital
* MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre
* Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Fung Yiu King Hospital
* Tsan Yuk Hospital
* Tung Wah Hospital

Kowloon Central Cluster
* Queen Elizabeth Hospital
* Kowloon Hospital
* Hong Kong Eye Hospital
* Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital
* Rehabaid Centre

Kowloon West Cluster
* Caritas Medical Centre
* Kwai Chung Hospital
* Kwong Wah Hospital
* Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital
* Princess Margaret Hospital
* TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital
* Yan Chai Hospital

New Territories East Cluster
* Prince of Wales Hospital

Ends/Thursday, June 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:16

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