LCQ7: Promoting development of telemedicine
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Question:
It has been reported that a network provider has launched a telemedicine platform to facilitate the provision of video consultation services by private hospitals and medical groups for patients. On promoting the development of telemedicine, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Hospital Authority (HA) has, in the light of the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, implemented a tele-care pilot programme in individual hospital clusters to provide suitable patients with tele-consultation services, whether the Government knows (i) the up-to-date service attendance, (ii) the effectiveness of the programme, and (iii) whether the HA will consider implementing the programme in more hospitals and clinics, as well as expanding the service scope to cover patients of new cases;
(2) given that during the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Government has launched the "Fight the Virus Together – Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Scheme" to subsidise Chinese medicine (CM) practitioners to provide free CM tele-consultation services for patients infected with COVID-19, whether the Government (i) has assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme, (ii) will allocate additional resources to implement the Scheme on an on-going basis, and (iii) will expand the service scope to cover patients with "post COVID-19 condition" (commonly known as "long COVID");
(3) as some members of the medical and health sector have pointed out that there is no legislation regulating telemedicine at present, and the telemedicine-related guidelines issued by the Medical Council of Hong Kong have not illustrated the specific standards and requirements for the application of telemedicine, causing the sector to adopt a prudent stance for the provision of telemedicine services, whether the Government will formulate a legislative framework for the regulation of telemedicine services (e.g. cross-boundary consultation, online drug prescription and drug delivery arrangements) as early as possible; and
(4) as it is learnt that one of the major difficulties of the sector in applying telemedicine is resolving technical problems, whether the Government will consider providing training and technical support for the sector, or developing an online consultation platform and relevant systems, so as to promote the development of telemedicine?
Reply:
President,
With the support of the Government, healthcare service providers and patients, the adoption of telehealth services in Hong Kong has picked up since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, under the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Government encourages more private hospitals, medical groups, healthcare professionals, etc., to provide free telehealth services to members of the public (including COVID-19 patients). Individual private hospitals and healthcare institutions have also launched telehealth support services for members of the public and COVID-19 patients.
The reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Leung is as follows:
(1)The Hospital Authority (HA) has been striving to introduce modern technology to provide patient-centered medical services, in order to provide a better experience for patients and to improve service quality. As technology develops, the HA is currently trying to use telehealth to provide medical services for suitable patients. Through telehealth, patients can receive public medical services provided by the HA without going out and visiting hospitals or clinics personally. This also helps alleviate the crowded situations in hospitals or clinics and maintain social distance with others.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the HA has been striving to re‑engineer the modes of various services, where practicable, and explore different types of workflow to continue patient care through the use of information and telecommunication technology. Currently, the HA is conducting a trial on telehealth service through the "HA Go" mobile application and the clinical management system used by healthcare workers. For example, allied health professionals can design rehabilitation training programmes for patients through multi-media functions such as videos and games via "HA Go" to help them undergo rehabilitation exercise systematically at home or in the community in accordance with the programmes. As of the end of May 2022, allied health professionals have designed rehabilitation training programmes for more than 35 000 patients. Patients may also receive health information and guidelines issued by healthcare workers such as electronic leaflets, videos or soundtracks through the newly added "My Health" section in "HA Go".
In addition, the HA is currently providing telehealth consultation services through "HA Go" and other platforms for suitable patients. Relevant services are being implemented in some outpatient clinics, day hospitals and outreach services. As of the end of May 2022, the HA has provided more than 13 000 telehealth consultations. Telehealth has its limitations and may not be suitable for all patients or circumstances. For example, patients who need to undergo clinical examinations are required to visit hospitals personally to complete the whole examination procedure. Generally speaking, the HA will provide telehealth consultation services to follow-up patients who are stable, do not need clinical examinations, and are physically in Hong Kong. When providing telehealth services, the HA will make reference to the relevant guidelines issued by the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK). In general, if drugs are prescribed after the telehealth consultation session, patients, their family members or carers can collect the drugs after settling payment in "HA Go". Separately, patients can also choose to contact community pharmacies or service organisations which provide drug collection and delivery services to make arrangements. At the same time, the HA is actively formulating a development strategy and action plan on drug collection and delivery services, with a view to improving service quality, benefiting more patients in need, and meeting the demand for medical services of the public.
(2) The Government has been actively co-ordinating with the Chinese medicine (CM) sector to mobilise the latter's resources to take forward various anti-epidemic work, including launching the "Fight the Virus Together - Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Scheme" through the Chinese Medicine Development Fund to provide free-of-charge telehealth services to infected persons as well as dispensing and delivery of CM drugs, enabling the CM sector to be fully engaged in the anti-epidemic work and to fully mobilise the resources of Hong Kong's CM sector which are concentrated in the private market. The Scheme is co-ordinated by the Federation of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Chinese Medicines Traders Association, and has been open to registration by patients since March 22, 2022. Over 3 700 consultations have been provided so far. Having regard to the community's needs, apart from patients under isolation at home, the Scheme will also accept the registration by infected persons whose test result has turned negative for COVID-19 within seven days. Professional CM treatment can help relieve symptoms as soon as possible, and reduce the chance of the disease progression or turning critical. The Scheme has received positive feedback from patients, who consider that the relevant service could provide them with timely CM support.
Meanwhile, taking into account the demand for CM rehabilitation consultations of the public, in addition to continuing to enhance the capacity of the Special CM Out-patient Programme through the HA's Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres in the 18 districts, the Government is actively exploring with the CM sector to provide further support to recovered persons.
(3) and (4) To provide guidance on the provision of telehealth services by doctors, the MCHK issued the Ethical Guidelines on Practice of Telemedicine (the Guidelines) (Note 1) in December 2019 and subsequently the Questions and Answers (Note 2) in early March this year. In the light of the COVID-19 epidemic and the significant increase in the demand for medical support by the public, on March 9 this year, the then Secretary for Food and Health had a meeting with the representatives of the medical and health sector from various healthcare professional bodies, medical and nursing schools of tertiary institutions, medical organisations, healthcare institutions and non-governmental organisations via video conferencing to discuss various joint efforts made by the medical and health sector in the fight against the epidemic, including providing telehealth services to COVID-19 patients, and encouraging more private hospitals, medical groups, healthcare professionals, etc. to provide free telehealth services to members of the public (including COVID-19 patients). During the meeting, the Chairman of the MCHK was particularly invited to brief the attendees on the contents of the Guidelines and the stance of the MCHK, with a view to addressing attendees' concerns about telehealth services for COVID-19 patients. The Government is pleased to note that individual private hospitals and healthcare institutions have already launched telehealth support services for members of the public and COVID-19 patients.
Note 1: The Guidelines are set out on www.mchk.org.hk/files/PDF_File_Ethical_Guidelines_on_Telemedicine.pdf.
Note 2: The Questions and Answers are set out on www.mchk.org.hk/files/Questions_and_Answers_to_the_Ethical_Guidelines_on_Practice_of_Telemedicine.pdf.
Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:45
Issued at HKT 16:45
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