Video link call in bid for instant health care
A TELEMEDICINE centre which enables physicians around the world to consult simultaneously should be set up to boost Hong Kong's clinical collaboration with overseas countries, a leading doctor said yesterday.
Professor Magnus Hjelm, chairman of the Chinese University's Department of Chemical Pathology, said telemedicine had advantages in providing health care for patients who lived in remote areas.
These people were likely to face restricted transport services and poor weather conditions.
Local doctors yesterday had their first glimpse when dermatologists in the territory and Belfast, Northern Ireland exchanged views on teleconferencing.
Thanks to a high resolution video camera, doctors overseas can monitor a patient. The technique - in use for two years overseas - was also deemed useful in Hong Kong because doctors could quickly seek second opinions, Professor Hjelm said.
'The Chinese University should consider establishing special resources for telemedicine both for local applications and as part of its on-going collaboration with China,' he said.
The demonstration was part of a one-day programme held by Chinese University and Beijing Medical University.
The institutes agreed on a three-year exchange programme and an annual conference on medical advances, said Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, Dean of Medicine at Chinese University.
