Hospital Authority fully supports clinical research and scientific innovation
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The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson today (July 15) said that since its establishment, the HA Data Collaboration Lab (HADCL) has leveraged the HA's vast public healthcare clinical database to provide invaluable research materials for local researchers, including university medical schools and other research teams. To date, it has supported numerous local medical research and scientific innovation projects. The HA will continue to enhance its healthcare data services and introduce more measures to support research, thereby elevating the quality of scientific research in Hong Kong.
As the major healthcare service provider in Hong Kong, the HA possesses extensive healthcare data spanning more than 30 years. To promote medical research and innovation and technology development in Hong Kong, the HA established the HADCL in 2018, which contains over 5.5 billion data records covering demographic characteristics, attendance records at hospitals or clinics, clinical diagnoses, procedures, medication and examination results, etc. To date, the HADCL has supported more than 450 researchers in conducting over 70 research projects, and more than 48 research papers have been published in international academic journals or presented at conferences.
The Government is promoting the standardisation of clinical data across the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The HA's vast and standardised medical database can provide relevant and appropriate data to establish a crucial data foundation for the Real-World Study and Application Centre (RWSAC) under the Government's Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute. The RWSAC will connect medical institutions within the region and integrate data from the measure of using Hong Kong registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals in GBA to construct a real world data platform within the GBA. It aims to enhance data quality, usability, and interoperability, thereby building a comprehensive evidence base for regulatory submissions to expedite the approval for registration of new drugs in Hong Kong, the Mainland, and overseas.
The HA is pleased to note that an increasing number of local university research teams have completed various forward-looking studies through the HADCL, covering various diseases and topics such as hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, dementia and the risk of falls among the elderly. These studies play a significant role in advancing disease risk assessment, refining treatment plans, drug development and therapeutic innovation. Some projects supported by the HADCL, such as the use of AI systems to assist in identifying hip fractures, have already been implemented in public hospital services, bringing benefits to patients.
The spokesman said, "The HA will continue to align with the Government's policy direction to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. By promoting the opening up of healthcare data, expanding the scope of data services, enhancing data platforms and streamlining processes, we aim to provide researchers with valuable research data and more convenient services. This will support Hong Kong's scientific research development and help elevate the overall healthcare standard in Hong Kong to benefit more patients."
Meanwhile, the HA has earlier established Central Clinical Research and Innovation Office and Cluster Clinical Research Support Offices to actively encourage and support healthcare professionals in public hospitals to participate in clinical research. The HA has also streamlined the research ethics approval process and centralised the vetting of cross-cluster ethical research applications.
The HA will continue to support clinical research through strengthening research ethics governance, providing clinical trial sites, and facilitating patient participation in public hospitals. It will also work closely with various research teams to jointly drive scientific research development, benefiting the local healthcare system and patients.
Ends/Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Issued at HKT 10:00
Issued at HKT 10:00
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