Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme opens for public enrolment from next Monday
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Under the CDCC Pilot Scheme, eligible persons can undergo DM and HT screening, attend doctor consultations, receive laboratory investigations, and, subject to their health conditions, be offered prescribed medication, follow-up care at nurse clinics and allied health services in the private healthcare sector by shouldering certain co-payment amount with government subsidies under a co-payment model. Those interested in joining the scheme can register as a member of any DHC/DHCE across 18 districts. They will then be assisted to pair with a family doctor upon giving consent to enrol in the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth). Persons aged 65 or above may settle the co-payment fees with Elderly Health Care Vouchers, including that for consultations, services by nurse clinics and allied health, and laboratory investigations.
The paired family doctor will give medical consultation to participants and arrange for them laboratory investigations, followed by advisory on the diagnosis. Participants who are diagnosed as not having any sign of DM or HT upon screening will be aided by the DHCs/DHCEs to set health management goals. Arrangements will also be made as needed for them to join activities that can help them adopt a healthier lifestyle for staying in good shape.
As for those who are diagnosed with prediabetes, DM or HT, they will be supported with government subsidies for long-term follow-up by the family doctor they selected. Participants diagnosed with prediabetes are entitled to a maximum of four subsidised consultation visits per year, while those diagnosed with DM or HT are entitled to a maximum of six subsidised consultation visits per year. Participants prescribed with basic-tier drugs for use under the CDCC Pilot Scheme will not be required to pay addition fee for such medication. There are more than 40 items of relevant basic-tier drugs including drugs for regulating blood glucose level and blood pressure as well as drugs for treating episodic illnesses. These drugs are sufficient for treating patients with prediabetes, DM and HT in general. The Government will review the list from time to time to meet the needs of participants.
Apart from subsidising the consultation visits, laboratory investigations and drug fees, the Government also set up an incentive mechanism. Once the participants have achieved certain health incentive targets (such as having their health indexes monitored and subsequently uploaded to the eHealth mobile application, attended follow-up consultations regularly, completed health education programmes or undergone specified examination as advised), they will enjoy a reduction of co-payment fee with a maximum amount of $150 for their first subsidised consultation in the following programme year (i.e. starting from the third programme year).
The Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, said, "Everybody should take the primary responsibility for their own health. As projected in the Population Health Survey 2020-22 of the Department of Health, some 17 per cent of the population aged 45 to 84 have an underlying condition of DM or HT. By joining the Scheme, eligible persons will be able to start managing their health earlier, thus preventing onset of diseases and receiving early identification and early treatment. This is particularly effective in delaying the occurrence of serious illnesses caused by DM or HT, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, retinopathy, or alleviating relative symptoms. As such, I would like to call on eligible persons to make good use of the Scheme for achieving better health."
The service flow, government subsidy level and co-payment fee of the CDCC Pilot Scheme are stated in the annexes. For more details, members of the public may browse the dedicated website of the CDCC Pilot Scheme (www.primaryhealthcare.gov.hk/cdcc/en), or call the hotline at 2157 0500. Dedicated staff of the hotline will answer calls from 9am to 9pm from Mondays to Saturdays.
Details of the programme was also outlined in the press release issued by the Health Bureau earlier.
Ends/Monday, November 6, 2023
Issued at HKT 14:30
Issued at HKT 14:30
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