New “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder” functions of eHealth to be extended to three additional medical institutions under Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme starting next Monday
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The Health Bureau (HHB) announced today (September 25) that the new functions of the “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder” in the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App) will be extended to the Nansha Division of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (FAH-NS), Dongguan Tungwah Hospital (Tungwah Hospital) and Shenzhen New Frontier United Family Hospital (NFUFH) under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme) starting from next Monday (September 30) to enhance the continuity of medical care for Hong Kong citizens through facilitating their secure use of electronic health records (eHRs) across the boundary.
Starting from next Monday, eligible elderly persons who use Elderly Health Care Vouchers at the three aforementioned hospitals can apply for their eHRs deposited in eHealth over the past three years through the “Cross-boundary Health Record” function in advance. Upon verification of an elderly person’s authorisation, a “File QR Code” and “Password QR Code” will be sent to the elderly person via the eHealth App. Healthcare professionals can then access and browse the relevant eHRs by scanning the two QR codes presented by the elderly person at the time of consultation at designated medical institutions to assist in diagnoses and treatment. Following system enhancements, the time required for verification of applications and preparation for eHRs has already been reduced to no more than 24 hours. Elderly persons should submit their applications one day prior to their consultations at the designated medical institutions to ensure that their eHRs will be ready for use at the time of the consultations.
Moreover, elderly persons can deposit medical-related records obtained during consultations received in medical institutions outside Hong Kong into their eHealth personal accounts through the “Personal Folder” function to facilitate storage and use of personal medical-related records obtained in and outside Hong Kong, including access by authorised healthcare providers in Hong Kong through eHealth during follow-up consultations.
The HHB has already set up support stations at the FAH-NS, Tungwah Hospital and NFUFH to assist Hong Kong citizens to get a better grasp of how to use the relevant functions. Citizens may visit the eHealth thematic website for more information.
The Government piloted the new “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder” functions of the eHealth App at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital in July this year and extended the functions to the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University and Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine under the Pilot Scheme on September 6. The feedback has been positive. Taking into account the implementation experience, the Government will further streamline the workflow and enhance the user experience in a bid to better support citizens’ cross-boundary healthcare needs.