[Sponsored Article] As the brand-new CUHK Medical Centre moves in stages towards full operating mode later this year, the second phase will see the start of in-patient services, including the opening of general wards, a paediatric ward, a day surgery centre and main pharmacy. This marks another key milestone for what is set to be Hong Kong’s first “smart hospital”, specifically designed to make full use of the latest advances in IT for every aspect of diagnosis, treatment, nursing care, support services and day-to-day management. To go with that, there is also a groundbreaking approach to how patients are charged. The concept of all-inclusive “package prices” is now being rolled out, making the costs associated with any particular case transparent, predictable and affordable. “In April, we are expanding capacity to 83 beds and will start using four operating theatres,” says CUHKMC chief executive officer Dr Fung Hong. “The aim is to test run the systems and build on the successful first phase, which began in January with the opening of a specialist outpatient centre, a wellness centre, and the endoscopy centre. Then, in July, we will be looking to add oncology services, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy for day patients, and will get prepared for the provision of 24-hour emergency medical services in phase four by initially offering 16-hour emergency services. The plan is to scale up every three months, eventually going to full operations in October.” By definition, he notes, CUHKMC is a non-profit, private teaching hospital, wholly owned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In line with its founding principles, any surpluses from providing healthcare services are put back into hospital development, and the CUHK Faculty of Medicine for research and teaching. The social mission, though, now extends to wanting to bridge the huge gap between private and public healthcare in Hong Kong and bring the best possible treatment within the financial reach of more people in the local community. “We have seen increasingly long waiting times in the public sector, and elective operations postponed because of Covid-19,” Fung says. “In the private sector, costs are expensive, and the worst thing for patients is that price is highly unpredictable. On discharge, it is often three times more than expected; that is a very common phenomenon under a fee-for-service system which promotes utilisation and consumption.” To assist, CUHKMC will offer a package pricing scheme based on diagnosis-related groups. This will categorise patients into tiers, with expected medical costs calculated by taking account of the diagnosis, the complexity of required surgery and potential complications, and the patient’s general health. The tiers take due consideration of factors such as co-morbidities or whether anaemia is under control, making it possible to arrive at an objective cost for anything from the removal of gall bladder to colon cancer or the replacement of a knee joint. The package prices include doctor’s fees, operation and treatment costs, related medication and imaging, room charges, and other incidental costs. Once a package is selected, there will be no hidden or extra fees. Importantly too, a commitment is given to recommend the most appropriate and effective treatment plan, based on the situation and each patient’s actual needs. “The package prices apply irrespective of the length of stay for patients with the same condition,” Fung says. “We have already published the information for about 20 endoscopy procedures on our website and, as we expand, the scheme will cover other in-patient and day surgery cases with, ultimately, more than 1,000 different options to create a comprehensive list. With standardised prices, we can also work with insurance companies on plans for them to offer more reasonable premiums and reduce deductions. Hopefully, with a measure of ‘social engineering’, we can bring better value for patients and reduce their financial burden.” In its role as a pioneering smart hospital, CUHKMC is also adopting the very latest technology to achieve the highest standards of clinical excellence and coordinated care. That means not just meeting the diagnostic and treatment needs of the 16 different medical centres specialising in everything from cardiology, haemodialysis and assisted reproduction to urology, elderly care, and labour and delivery. It extends also to using state-of-the-art IT wherever feasible, so the hospital can be run with greater efficiency and accuracy and at lower cost. Three key objectives in this respect were to implement a fully electronic, paperless system for medical records; to make use of advanced information and communications technology and real-time data to facilitate treatment of patients; and to use the IoT (Internet of Things) to support the overall management. So, for instance, there is a Bluetooth-enabled in-hospital navigation system to help visitors find their way around. A geo-fencing feature alerts medical staff if a patient unexpectedly leaves the paediatric ward or elderly care centre. Via a mobile app, patients have access to their own medical history. And “self-service” kiosks set up at admission counters and other points will make it easy to log in with a membership ID to check appointment information or queue status, and make electronic payments. “We are establishing a very holistic strategy to develop ourselves as a smart hospital,” Fung says. “This will support doctors and nurses in their daily medical work and ensure the ‘care experience’ is good for the patient.”
