Automatic upload of patient health records pushed to enhance sharing

Wallis Wang

The Health Bureau has proposed a plan to automatically upload the records of nearly six million eHealth system users from private hospitals to enhance the sharing of patient records.

The administration intends to develop the Electronic Health Record Sharing System into a comprehensive information infrastructure, enabling patients to deposit their digital records from both the public and private sectors into personalized accounts.

The bureau, however, said only 30 percent of eHealth users have agreed to upload their records from private institutions into the system.

To address the issue, authorities plan to amend the eHealth system ordinance by the end of the year or early next year. It will simplify the record-uploading mechanism, allowing people who join the eHealth system to automatically authorize the uploads.

Deputy Secretary for Health Sam Hui Chark-shum said Hongkongers often seek medical care from both sectors.

The revised system will allow them to better manage their health records, while also providing authorities with insights for implementing effective health policies.

While patients joining the system are required to upload their medical records, they retain the right to decide which doctor can access them.

"The patients' medical records will still be stored in the eHealth system and doctors cannot check them without authorization," Hui said, adding the bureau is currently studying the possibility of authorizing via QR codes in the future.

Quality HealthCare Medical Services, a private clinic, has been collaborating with the bureau since last year by uploading patients' records to the eHealth system, upon receiving patient authorization.

Currently, only 10 percent of patients have agreed to upload their records, including medical histories, prescriptions, vaccine records, and drug allergies, according to Chow Yat, the company's executive medical director. Chow said sharing records simplifies the process for doctors to access information and subsequently reduces administrative burdens.

Additionally, patients will soon be able to send their medical records to the mainland when seeking treatment.

According to Hui, there are no significant restrictions on exporting medical data from Hong Kong to the mainland.

However, the data sharing does not grant mainland institutions access to the entire database. Instead, it allows medical professionals to review the records of individual patients only after obtaining approval.

Hui assured "it is impossible for either mainland institutions or local private clinics to obtain the health-care data of millions of people."

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com