80% of Hongkongers are using city’s eHealth record scheme, but authorities say most aren’t sharing data with private medical providers
- Health Bureau tells lawmakers that 6 million residents have registered for electronic health record system, but 70 per cent aren’t allowing private sector access to data
- Authorities cite overly complex consent model as cause, propose system revamp over next five years to create new ‘eHealth+’ platform at cost of nearly HK$1.4 billion
Four-fifths of Hong Kong’s population have signed up for the city’s electronic health record system, but more than 70 per cent have yet to share their information with private service providers, according to government figures.
The statistics appeared in a government paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday evening, in which the Health Bureau revealed plans to upgrade the existing “eHealth” system to “eHealth+” at the cost of nearly HK$1.4 billion (US$179 million) over the next five years.
The bureau wrote that the first step would be the promotion of the revamped platform among residents, with plans to also introduce amendments to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHR) Ordinance in late 2024 or early 2025.
“We observe that of the 6 million citizens registered with eHealth, more than 70 per cent have not given any ‘sharing consent’ to any private healthcare providers, partly due to the complicated two-step consent model which some citizens may not fully understand,” it said.
According to the system’s website, healthcare providers other than the Hospital Authority and Department of Health can only view and upload patients’ medical records with their consent.
The bureau said it would revise the eHR Ordinance to streamline the consent mechanism to help residents in “unlocking the flow of electronic health records from the private sector to their personalised electronic health records account”.
According to the paper submitted to Legco’s health services panel, proposed changes include streamlining the consent process and requiring service providers to store certain health data from consenting patients on their personal accounts.