Dr Cheung said that the authority would spend HK$1 billion on the electronic system.

The authority is working with 1,200 private doctors in the pilot scheme. However, the system at the moment only allows for a one-way flow of information from the authority to the private sector. 'It is because a lot of health care providers and hospitals in the private sector are not yet equipped with the necessary IT to share back their patients' information,' Dr Cheung said. 'The ultimate goal is mutual information sharing, not only between the public and private sectors, but also within the private [sector].'

According to Joanne Chung Wai-yee, a professor at the school of nursing and director of the centre for integrative digital health at Polytechnic University, the objective of an electronic health record is twofold. 'It is about continuity of care for patients and also involves finding out the most cost-effective way to improve the treatment protocol of a patient by allowing medical professionals to look at their health data and treatment history,' she said.

'Along the lines of this objective, a [Hong Kong-wide] electronic patient record system should create a two-way communication platform where practitioners in public and private sectors in medical and health care disciplines, such as nursing, radiology and physiotherapy, can access and communicate. Imagine an HA patient who needs to consult a local general practitioner for regular check-ups after being discharged from hospital, the two-way mode can keep the patient health data updated after each consultation.'

The authority has started to co-operate with private hospitals across Hong Kong and general practitioners in Tin Shui Wai to encourage the sharing of patient health data. According to Dr Cheung, public hospital patients who, for example, had X-rays or surgery at private hospitals, can have their medical and diagnostic reports sent to the authority to be updated.

Professor Chung said innovations and advances in medical technology should ensure that electronic patient health records were not limited to storing progress notes of patients in hospital. They should also extend in scope to include data such as X-ray films and blood pressure records. 'Hong Kong is at the forefront of electronic patient health record development in the Asia-Pacific region,' she said.

In taking PPIePR to the next level, huge technological support for health informatics is required at the authority. 'We definitely see [the need for an] expansion of manpower in medical informatics, and we are working with local universities to develop training courses and degree courses to nurture the right talent,' said Dr Cheung, who supervises a team of 30 health informatics professionals.

'In health informatics, you need a team of professionals like us who come from a clinical background and are willing to work with technology and systems, and also a team of IT technicians and programmers who not only have a working knowledge of technology but also understand the specific needs on the health care side. It is a specialisation of information technology.'

More than basic IT knowledge, Professor Chung said people in medical informatics needed to learn how to handle confidentiality and ethics issues. 'They must have a reasonable level of understanding of database management, together with background knowledge of ethics and ways to handle confidential data,' she said. 'People from a health background, who understand the health industry, can cater for further expansion of the system in future and have an advantage in seeking employment in health informatics as the field continues to develop.'

PolyU offers a master of science degree programme in health informatics and accepts students from backgrounds such as nursing, radiology and information technology. 'There are compulsory subjects, such as the health care system and basic informatics, the students need to take. We prepare the students for the tasks, but it is more important that they know how to apply the knowledge.'