E-sick notes just the tonic for ailing staff

Public doctors will give out electronic medical certificates to public hospital and clinic patients from March 6, allowing patients to share their proof of sick leave with their bosses via a mobile application, the Hospital Authority announced.

Describing the move as a major first step for smart hospital development, the authority's chief manager Larry Lee Lap-yip said printed certificates will still be given out in the initial phase alongside e-certificates, both with a doctor's e-signature.

"The new version of the medical certificate will adopt a digital signature without requiring a doctor to sign manually," Lee said. "The digital signature is of the same legal effect as a manual signature."

Around 150,000 sick leave certificates are issued by public doctors every month. Lee said the authority will completely ditch printed proofs but no timeline has yet been set because some staff may not be familiar with electronic procedures.

The e-certificates will be issued via the authority's HA Go app. Patients need to create an account by inputting their personal information including HKID number, English name and mobile phone number.

Joanna Pang Yuk-wa, chief medical informatics officer, said the e-certificate will be "[automatically stored in 'My Record'], just a few minutes after the medical consultation."

The certificates can be stored for two years, after which they can still be retrieved by applying to the authority.

Patients can submit the certificate to their employers with the share function in the app to WhatsApp, e-mails or other messaging applications. Bosses can then scan the QR code on the e-certificate which will link to a website and verify the document's authenticity by inserting the patient's name and sick leave dates.

Currently, patients who have online consultations with public doctors are still required to attend the institutions to pick up their medical proof but an e-certificate would save them from the commute, Lee said.

More than 2.2 million users have downloaded HA Go, with about 1.75 million active users.

Pang urged the public to download the app, adding that there is also a caregiver mode for family members of the elderly.

But citizens have mixed reactions to the new policy. Some said they need not worry about losing printed certificates but are concerned about privacy issues and whether there are loopholes in the system's security.

Others worry about the authenticity of e-certificates, saying "electronic documents can be forged."

Medical Association president Cheng Chi-man said some companies adopting traditional human resources policies may only accept printed medical proof and that "electronic sick leave certificates may have limitations."

He suggested patients consult doctors in clinics personally if they want to get a longer sick leave.

Tony Ling Siu-chi, president of the Public Doctors' Association, said issuing e-certificates is time-saving and environmentally friendly, adding that "digitalization is a general trend."

But he said it is impractical to completely eliminate paper certificates as some people would still need physical documents, which should coexist with e-certificates.

Lee said the authority is also studying to digitize referral certificates and the delivery of medication, with the latter targeted to be launched by the end of next month.

Additionally, the authority is setting up an electronic platform for staff to report sick leave within the year.