Letters | Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority used IT to fight Covid-19 and stands prepared for future challenges
- From the activation of an electronic platform for monitoring cases and its quick deployment at the AsiaWorld-Expo testing centre to the roll-out of tele-care services, the Hospital Authority has used technology as a tool to battle Covid-19
More than 1,200 Covid-19 patients have been diagnosed in Hong Kong. It is hard to overstate how difficult it has been to manage a flood of patient-related information under intense pressure.
Since the outbreak of the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in 2003, the Hospital Authority has been developing different information technology tools to help manage territory-wide infectious disease outbreaks. Hence, this time, we were able to quickly activate an electronic platform, the e-novel infectious disease (E-NID) system, in early January for our clinicians to record and monitor any suspected case immediately – so as to arrange for proper testing and isolation without delay.
E-NID also shares real-time information with the Centre for Health Protection, to facilitate the government’s coordination of patient care and carry out proper contact tracing more effectively and efficiently.
We took less than 48 hours to set up the E-NID and other IT systems there to help our frontline clinicians carry out their duties in a venue originally built for hosting exhibitions and conventions.
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Hong Kong’s tough quarantine and travel restrictions
This epidemic has thrown up many health care challenges. However, it has also given us an opportunity to speed up the development of IT tools.
The experience gained from previous epidemics has enabled us to apply new IT initiatives to manage this coronavirus epidemic more effectively, as well as to enhance our future IT strategy and move in the direction of a “smart hospital” system.
IT has been an important tool for us to manage and fight the epidemic this time. We will build on the experience gained and continue to improve our IT systems for the post-Covid 19 world and stand prepared for any future infectious disease outbreak.
Dr N.T. Cheung, head, Information Technology and Health Informatics, Hospital Authority
