The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
     
     The Hospital Authority (HA) Convention 2026 begins today for three consecutive days (May 11 to 13) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in both in-person and online formats. More than 9 000 local, Mainland and overseas healthcare professionals and academics, together with approximately 200 distinguished speakers will exchange professional insights, clinical advances and experience on various healthcare topics, achieving record-high participation levels.
      
     The HA Convention this year is focusing on the HA's core values, namely People-centred Care, Professional Service, Committed Staff and Teamwork, with topics on healthcare development and sustainability, chronic disease management, cancer treatment, palliative care and advance directives. Other sessions will include topics on the application of artificial intelligence and robotics in healthcare, personalised medicine, medical training, advance care planning, medical-social collaboration and preparedness for major events, with the aim of promoting modernised healthcare service models and facilitating exploration and discussion of contemporary concepts among healthcare professionals and stakeholders.
      
     The convention opening ceremony was officiated this morning by the Acting Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau; the HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan; and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Libby Lee. The Deputy Director-General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, Ms Li Wei, delivered a speech on behalf of Vice-Minister of the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China Professor Zeng Yixin, congratulating the successful convening of the Convention.
      
     In his welcome address, Mr Fan said that the HA has committed to maintain sustainability of public healthcare service through reform. Over the past year, the HA has made steadfast progress in taking forward numerous reform initiatives, with the successful implementation of public healthcare fees and charges reform from January 1, 2026 standing as a top priority. The reform has had far-reaching impact by rationalising resource allocation, reducing wastage and misuse, and enhancing support for patients.
      
     "Since the implementation of the public healthcare fees and charges reform, achievements had been made in utilisation of Accident and Emergency (A&E) services and in enhancing patient protection. There has been an overall decrease of about 10 per cent in attendances at the A&E departments, with a significant drop of 22 per cent in non-urgent cases, enabling A&E departments to focus their resources on patients with emergency needs. As of the end of April, the number of patients approved for fee waiver has significantly increased to over 224,000, which is 16 times the annual figure prior to the reform. The annual overall medical expense cap of HK$10,000 introduced by the HA has also received nearly 3 000 applications, demonstrating that the reform has effectively reallocated resources to comprehensively enhance protection for the 'poor, acute, serious and critical' patients."
      
     Mr Fan said that the HA has made significant progress in promoting "patient centric" services. Since the establishment of Task Groups on Enhancing Patient centric Services at each hospital in 2023, every hospital has introduced various initiatives that place patients at the centre of attention. These include the recently announced enhancement to visiting arrangements, under which visiting hours at all rehabilitation and palliative wards of non-acute wards have been extended to nine hours, while all paediatric wards are now open around-the-clock. Eligible patients may even have their pets visit them as well. In addition, the number of HA Go mobile app users has now reached over 3.5 million, enabling more patients and their carers to conveniently access public hospitals services and manage their personal health.
      
     Mr Fan continued, "Apart from 'patient centric' services, the pursuit of service excellence lies at the very core of the HA. To date, four public hospitals have obtained national healthcare standards accreditation, and a total of seven acute hospitals are expected to complete accreditation by next year. The HA is also establishing chest pain centres and stroke centres in accordance with national accreditation standards at public hospitals, with Queen Mary Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital and Tuen Mun Hospital taking the lead, in a continuous effort to enhance professional standards and service quality."
      
     Delivering her keynote address at the opening ceremony, "Forging a New Era of Service Excellence in Public Healthcare", Dr Lee shared her vision on realising service excellence and driving the sustainable development of public healthcare services. "In the face of rapid population ageing and an increasingly complex environment, the Five-Year Plan for 2026 to 2030 – Hong Kong's first aligned with the National 15th Five-Year Plan – provides the HA with a clear strategic coherence. It marks a decisive shift in healthcare service, which is a shift from quantity to quality, and from reactive medicine to proactive health management."
      
     Dr Lee stated that the mission under this new era must evolve its focus from the mere pursuit of "clinical excellence" to the realisation of true "service excellence", delivering the right care, at the right time, in the right place, grounded in empathy and sustained by efficiency. She added, "To achieve service excellence, we must redesign healthcare service model. Through three purpose-built pathways, services will be categorised into acute care, high-efficiency procedures, and community-based support, enabling greater seamless integration of healthcare service and ensuring that each patient's needs are met with the right level of precision and support."
      
     Under the acute care pathway, the HA is scaling specialised centres across clusters to treat patients with acute and critical conditions, and strengthening the "Golden Hour" protocols at Chest Pain Centres and Stroke Centres. The newly established Neuroscience Centre will concentrate on managing complex neurological care, ensuring more consistent delivery of optimal care for patients.
      
     Under the high-efficiency procedures pathway, the Central Dispensing Hubs are leveraging automation technology to manage high-volume medication packing, streamlining complicated medication dispensing workflows and enabling seamless delivery of medications directly to patients' homes. This allows pharmacists to focus on high-value clinical consultations and patient care.
      
     Under the community-based support pathway, the HA is redesigning service models and will collaborate with community partners to prioritise the expansion of community, ambulatory, and home-based support, ensuring seamless continuity of support upon patient discharge. This approach will both free up hospital capacity for acute patients and shorten waiting times for admissions and follow-up appointments.
      
     Dr Lee described the HA as moving towards a new era of smart hospitals and digitalisation, necessitating investment in augmented intelligence to improve clinical outcomes. The HA has deployed AI-assisted diagnostics to support radiologists in detecting subtle abnormalities, predictive tools to identify and anticipate patients at risk of clinical deterioration, and surgical planning tools to optimise operating theatre utilisation.
      
     In addition, through the integration of HA Go mobile app, Smart Hospital initiatives, and workflow reengineering, the patient journey has been further simplified. From outpatient appointment booking and registration, real-time waiting time tracking, payment, to collecting medications without queuing, and receiving follow-up arrangements and health education information, everything can be easily managed via mobile devices, reflecting the spirit of patient centric service. Dr Lee emphasised that cybersecurity has become a clinical safety imperative in the course of digital transformation, and the HA remains committed to ensuring the rigorous protection of patient data.
      
     In support of the Government's initiative to establish Hong Kong as an International Health and Medical Innovation Hub, the HA is strengthening its collaboration with universities to leverage clinical data for medical research. Concurrently, through the Government's new "1+" mechanism, the HA is partnering with technology and pharmaceutical sectors to co-develop new drugs, medical devices and care models, while ensuring that affordability and global standards are built into the design of every new treatment.
      
     In conclusion, Dr Lee said, "The measure of our success lies not in how sophisticated our healthcare system is, but in whether patients in the bed feel seen, whether the carers feel supported, and whether our staff take pride in the work they do. This is what true service excellence means. Healthcare is not only science and systems; it is embodied in the spirit of every healthcare professional who is willing to go the extra mile. It is the very spirit that has enabled the HA to build a solid foundation over the past 35 years and to continue moving forward." She expressed confidence that with the dedication and commitment of all members of the HA and the support of global partners, the HA will continue to pursue excellence, safeguard public health, and collectively shape a more sustainable future for the public healthcare system.
 

Ends/Monday, May 11, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:12

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