Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme to be extended to Foshan in July, with new service points in Zhongshan and Guangzhou
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- extended to Foshan with two new service points; and
- expanded with an additional service point in Zhongshan and Guangzhou respectively.
Details are as follows:
| Services launch date | Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) city | New service point/ Name of medical institution under the Pilot Scheme |
| July 9 (Wednesday) |
Zhongshan | Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ZSHTCM) |
| Guangzhou | Guangdong Clifford Hospital (GDCH) | |
| July 17 (Thursday) |
Foshan | The First People's Hospital of Foshan (FPHFS) |
| The Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (EAHSMU) |
"The Pilot Scheme will be launched at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital for the first time, which will not only bring another breakthrough to the EHCV Scheme but also provide eligible elderly persons with additional choices in healthcare services," said a Government spokesman. With the four additional service points in the above table, the number of service points in the GBA where EHCVs can be used will increase to 15, benefitting more than 1.78 million eligible Hong Kong elderly persons.
EHCVs are applicable for outpatient healthcare services provided by 12 designated departments at the ZSHTCM, including Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Orthopedics, Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Gynecology, Traditional Chinese Medicine Characteristic Clinic, Health Management Center, Psychology Department, Department of Sleep Medicine, Department of Stomatology and Emergency Department.
For GDCH, EHCVs are applicable for outpatient healthcare services provided by 13 designated departments, including Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Gynecology, Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, Rehabilitation Department, Department of Orthopedics, Department of Ophthalmology, ENT (Otorhinolaryngology) Department, Department of Dentistry, Health Checkup Department, General Medicine Clinic, Emergency Department and Nursing Clinic.
Concerning FPHFS, EHCVs are applicable for outpatient healthcare services provided by 14 designated departments, including Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Orthopedics, Department of Gynecology, Department of General Practice, Department of Stomatology, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Health Management Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Emergency Department and Department of Clinical Nutrition.
For EAHSMU, EHCVs are applicable for outpatient healthcare services provided by 15 designated departments, including Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics, Department of Gynaecology, Department of Dentistry, Department of Chinese Medicine, Department of Health Management, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Rehabilitation, Department of Clinical Psychology, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of General Practice, Department of Accident and Emergency (A&E), and Department of Nutrition.
The arrangements for shared use of EHCVs between spouses and the EHCV Pilot Reward Scheme under the EHCV Scheme are equally applicable to the above-mentioned four medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme. When an elderly person receives designated primary healthcare outpatient services for health checks, preventive health services, and follow-up/monitoring of long-term conditions at the designated departments, the EHCV spending for that service encounter can be accumulated for the allotment of rewards. Further information and treatment flow are set out in the Annex.
The fees for the healthcare services provided by the pilot medical institutions are denominated in Renminbi. Medical institutions will make EHCV claims for elderly persons, and the EHCV amount deducted in Hong Kong dollars will be calculated according to a monthly updated voucher conversion factor under the EHCV Scheme. The monthly voucher conversion factor under the EHCV Scheme will be displayed at the cashier offices of the medical institutions for reference by the elderly person.
"Elderly persons cannot use EHCVs together with national medical insurance to pay for the fees of the same healthcare service encounter. The scope of using EHCVs on the Mainland is the same as that in Hong Kong, which does not include inpatient services, prepaid healthcare services and day surgery procedures. EHCVs cannot be used solely for the purchase of goods, medication, medical equipment or products, nor can they be redeemed for cash," the spokesperson reminded.
Hong Kong elderly persons should register with eHealth before using EHCVs at any designated service point in the GBA. To facilitate Hong Kong citizens in using electronic health records (eHRs) across the boundary in a secure manner and to enhance the continuity of healthcare services, the "Cross-boundary Health Record" and "Personal Folder" functions of the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App) will be extended to the relevant hospitals starting from the service launch day of the Pilot Scheme (i.e. July 9 and July 17 respectively). In addition, elderly persons can also use the eHealth App to check their EHCV balance and usage record, as well as access at any time important information such as their medications, allergies and adverse drug reactions stored in the eHealth App. If elderly persons wish to use EHCVs at the GBA medical institutions but they have not yet registered with eHealth, the medical institutions will instantly register them for eHealth upon their consent so that they can use EHCVs right away.
If elderly persons suspect that the participating medical institutions have violated the EHCV Scheme rules, they can call the EHCV Scheme hotline (2838 2311) to provide relevant information and details to the Health Care Voucher Division of the Department of Health (DH). All suspected cases of violation of the EHCV Scheme rules will be strictly dealt with by the DH. Furthermore, each GBA medical institution has set up an enquiry and complaint hotline. Elderly persons can also offer their views to the relevant medical institution or file complaints against the medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme to the health authority at the provincial or city level if necessary. Members of the public can visit the following thematic website (www.hcv.gov.hk/en/hcv_gba_pilot_scheme/index.html) for more information.
The Government is actively taking forward the implementation of the Pilot Scheme in the remaining six medical institutions included in the Pilot Scheme. It is expected that the relevant arrangements will be launched gradually in the second half of this year. Together with the two existing service points operated by the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, eligible elderly persons can use EHCV at a total of 21 service points in the GBA cities.
Ends/Monday, July 7, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
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