Request of information about eHRSS under Code on Access to Information
Simon H WANG
From: <enq...@fhb.gov.hk>
Date: Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 8:16 PM
Subject: Re: Request of information about eHRSS under Code on Access to Information
To: <simo...@hkbu.edu.hk>
Dear Dr WANG,
Thank you for your email on 11 November 2017. We would like to provide our response as below -
1) How many patients have registered in eHRSS as of Oct 2017? What is the participation rate (the number of enrolled patients over the number of patients that could register for the system)?
As at end-October 2017, about 610 000 healthcare recipients (HCRs) (or generally referred to as patients) had registered in the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS).
According to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System Ordinance (eHRSSO) (Cap 625), an HCR that meets the conditions set out in Section 6(7) (https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap625!en-zh-Hant-HK?INDEX_CS=N&xpid=ID_1466474234729_001) of the Ordinance may apply to be registered as a registered HCR. In view of the wide coverage of the relevant provision (both Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong residents could register), there is no readily available statistics on the number of patients that could register in eHRSS.
2) How many private doctors/ health professionals and private hospitals have registered under eHRSS as of Oct 2017? What is the participation rate (the number of enrolled private doctors/ health professionals over the number of private doctors/ health professionals that could register for the system)?
Participation of healthcare providers (HCPs) in eHRSS is on an organisational basis. As at end-October 2017, about 1 400 private HCPs, including all 12 local private hospitals, had registered in eHRSS. About 4 300 healthcare professional (HCProf) accounts had been created under these private HCPs.
According to eHRSSO, an HCP that provides healthcare at one or more than one service locations in Hong Kong may apply to be registered as an HCP if it falls under one of the six categories stipulated in Section 19(5) (https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap625!en-zh-Hant-HK?INDEX_CS=N&xpid=ID_1466475131875_001) of eHRSSO. In view of the wide coverage of the relevant provision (not only medical institutions could register), there is no readily available statistics on the number of HCPs that could register in eHRSS. Upon successful registration in eHRSS, an HCP can create accounts for its HCProfs to enable them to access the system depending on their own operation needs. In view that the initiative of creating HCProf accounts lies with the HCPs, we do not consider participation rate an appropriate measure in this context.
3) Among the patients registered, how many are under the age of 16? How many are under the age of 12?
As at end-October 2017, the number of eHRSS patients under the age of 16 and 12 were about 12 400 and 11 300 respectively.
4) Whether the records of seasonal flu vaccination and flu infection (info found in Flu Express http://www.chp.gov.hk/en/guideline1_year/29/134/441/304.html) are part of the records in eHRSS.
Seasonal influenza vaccinations are currently provided to the public by various public and private HCPs. While the vaccination records in public HCPs (i.e. the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority) are uploaded to eHRSS, private HCPs will upload such records to eHRSS if they have joined eHRSS and are technically capable of sharing electronic health records to the system, provided that the HCR has given sharing consent to the HCP.
As for the local influenza activity reported in Flu Express, the data therein come from a number of sources and surveillance systems on infectious diseases. For those surveillance data that are not associated with medical records of an individual (e.g. influenza-like illness outbreak, fever surveillance at sentinel child care centres/ kindergartens, fever surveillance at sentinel residential care homes for the elderly, etc.), such data would fall outside the scope of sharable data of eHRSS.
5) Whether the children's records from Family Health Services will be kept in eHRSS when children register.
For children who have joined eHRSS, once they receive immunisation at the Maternal and Child Health Centres of the Family Health Service of the Department of Health, their vaccination records will be automatically uploaded to eHRSS. The Department of Health will enhance the electronic health record system of the Family Health Service to support the sharing of more data domains with eHRSS.
6) What is the cost of setting up the eHRSS and what is the annual operation cost of the system?
The development of eHRSS comprises two stages. The development cost for Stage One eHRSS was $702 million. We are currently developing Stage Two eHRSS at a development cost of $422 million. The cost for operating eHRSS in 2016-17 was about $200 million.
7) In the letter, I proposed an opt-out registration system for eHRSS. Could you comment on the feasibility of the proposal and indicate whether the bureau would consider this proposal in the near future?
In the course of planning the implementation of eHRSS, the feasibility of opt-in and opt-out registration had been considered with reference to overseas experience. We noted that different countries had different preferences over the “opt-out” and “opt-in” participation models. In the Hong Kong context, we noted that the majority of the respondents of the public consultation conducted in 2011, as well as the views from subsequent stakeholder engagement meetings, supported “voluntary participation”. In addition, in adopting “voluntary participation”, we also noted the need for protecting patient privacy and the pace of computerisation of individual HCPs. We will keep reviewing the overall operation and implementation of eHRSS in the light of the operational experience gained with a view to enhancing our services to the public.
If you have further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us again.
Yours sincerely,
(Miss Natalie CHONG)
for Secretary for Food and Health
From: Enquiry FHB/FHB/HKSARG
To: simo...@hkbu.edu.hk,
Date: 20/11/2017 15:56
Subject: Re: Request of information about eHRSS under Code on Access to Information
Dear Dr WANG,
Thank you for your email on 11 November 2017.
We are following up with your request for information and will give you a reply in due course.
Yours sincerely,
(Alex FONG)
for Secretary for Food and Health
From: Simon H Wang <simo...@hkbu.edu.hk>
To: "e...@ehealth.gov.hk" <e...@ehealth.gov.hk>, enq...@fhb.gov.hk, km...@fhb.gov.hk,
Date: 11/11/2017 16:41
Subject: Request of information about eHRSS under Code on Access to Information
Dear Miss To,
Following up my letter to the editor on the system in Nov 2016 (http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2049257/fine-tune-e-health-system-shares-records-patients-hong-kong#), I'd like to request the following information about eHRSS under Code on Access to Information:
1) How many patients have registered in eHRSS as of Oct 2017? What is the participation rate (the number of enrolled patients over the number of patients that could register for the system) ?
2) How many private doctors/ health professionals and private hospitals have registered under eHRSS as of Oct 2017? What is the participation rate (the number of enrolled private doctors/ health professionals over the number of private doctors/ health professionals that could register for the system) ?
3) Among the patients registered, how many are under the age of 16? How many are under the age of 12?
4) whether the records of seasonal flu vaccination and flu infection (info found in Flu Express http://www.chp.gov.hk/en/guideline1_year/29/134/441/304.html) are part of the records in eHRSS.
5) whether the children's records from Family Health Services will be kept in eHRSS when children register.
6) What is the cost of setting up the eHRSS and what is the annual operation cost of the system?
7) In the letter, I proposed an opt-out registration system for eHRSS. Could you comment on the feasibility of the proposal and indicate whether the bureau would consider this proposal in the near future?
Thank you in advance for your information.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Wang
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: eHR Registration Office <e...@ehealth.gov.hk>
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2016 at 10:10 AM
Subject: RE: Comments on eHealth system at SCMP
To: Simon H Wang <simo...@hkbu.edu.hk>
Dear Mr Wang,
Thank you for your email dated 27 November
2016 informing us about your letter to the editor of the South China Morning
Post. We note and are appreciative of your feedback and suggestions
on the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS). Please be
assured that we will continue to review the operations and implementation
of the eHRSS in the light of operational experience with a view to enhancing
our services to the public.
Electronic Health Record Registration Office
Telephone: 3467 6300
Fax: 3467 6099
Email: e...@ehealth.gov.hk
Website: http://www.ehealth.gov.hk
Address : Unit 1193, 11/F, Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong
This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated recipient only. It may contain information that is privileged for the designated recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying, printing, forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message (including attachments) from your system and notify the sender immediately.
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From: Simon H Wang [mailto:simo...@hkbu.edu.hk]
Sent: 27 November, 2016 9:04 PM
To: eHR Registration Office
Subject: Comments on eHealth system at SCMP
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to bring your attention to my letter to the editor at South China Morning Post commenting on the eHealth Record Sharing System:
Thanks for your attention.
Cheers
Simon
--
Simon Wang
Language Centre
Hong Kong Baptist University
Waterloo Road, KowloonTong
HKSAR
Tel: (852) 3411 7044
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--
Simon Wang
Language Centre
Hong Kong Baptist University
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/staff_simon.php
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Simon H WANG
From: Simon H Wang <simo...@hkbu.edu.hk>
Date: Tue, Mar 6, 2018 at 7:12 PM
Subject: the eHealth system must integrate with other e-initiatives in health care
To: Letters to the Editor <let...@scmp.com>
Since its launch in March 2016, the eHealth Record Sharing System (eHRSS) that enables the exchange of health care data among private health care professionals and public hospitals has enrolled over 680,000 healthcare recipients and 1400 healthcare providers. While the initial response to the system is promising, the Food and Health Bureau must promote the system more aggressively among the public to justify its enormous development and operating costs. It should also collaborate with both the Department of Health and Hospital Authority working on other eHealth projects to save manpower and resources.
According to the data from the Food and Health Bureau, the Stage One of eHRSS development cost HKD 702 million and the Stage Two development that began in July 2017 is expected to cost an additional HKD 422 million. Moreover, the annual operating cost of the system as of 2016-17 amounts to about HKD 200 million, which is equivalent to nearly HKD 300 per user per year. Unless the eHealth system could benefit ten times of the number of healthcare recipients it currently serves, the Secretary for Food and Health may have a hard time to justify such a huge recurring operating cost.
To further market the eHealth system, the bureau should focus on the children through collaborating with Family Health Service and School Dental Care Service of Department of Health. As in October 2017, the number of eHRSS patients under the age of 12 and 16 were about 11,300 and 12,400 respectively, suggesting children are severely underserved by the eHealth system. In the meantime, Department of Health has developed two separate online platforms- Child Health Service Booking System and Student Internet Service for Dental Care- for the two service units mentioned above. The number of children enrolled in eHRSS will increase significantly if the e-platforms developed by Department of Health and the eHRSS of the Food and Health Bureau become fully integrated.
Such efforts of platform integration and data sharing should also extend to other e-initiatives of Hospital Authority such as HA Touch, DM Care, i-Easy to avoid the waste of resources in developing and marketing separate systems. Only through concerted efforts among the Department of Health, Hospital Authority and Electronic Health Record Registration Office under the leadership of the Secretary for Food and Health could Hong Kong realize its vision to build a smart city in the area of public health.
Simon Wang
Kowloon Tong
51998025