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Hong Kong society
OpinionLetters

LettersHow Hong Kong can give its public healthcare system a shot in the arm

Readers suggest steps to improve public health service delivery, recommend a less bureaucratic system, and discuss the ‘lying flat’ phenomenon

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Patients in the Accident and Emergency Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on February 8. Photo: Edmond So
Letters
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Given Hong Kong’s ageing population and the slowing economy, it is expected that public health services will be under much strain. More effort should made to improve efficiency and reduce clinical risk. The long waiting time for clinical services such as for ophthalmology, internal medicine and psychiatry is also a matter of grave concern.

Can there be better coordination between public and private services? Should the co-development of specific speciality areas be prioritised?

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The development of primary care centres, especially for the elderly, is to be applauded, but much more has to be done before a seamless healthcare service can be provided to the community. The operators of district health centres should demonstrate their capacity to provide holistic community-based rehabilitative services covering physical and psychosocial aspects, offering services in place as well as networking with other organisations to support care in the community.

There should be a careful re-engineering and reintegration of healthcare delivery, rehabilitation and social service. New ideas such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical and rehabilitation services should be urgently explored.

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AI can be applied to clinical diagnostics, laboratory investigations such as MRI or CAT scan interpretations, and risk management exercises. In Hong Kong, we can incorporate traditional Chinese medicine, with its own broad diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, into these AI-assisted techniques.
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