SSM and IAS to jointly launch virtual medical appointments for the elderly

The Health Bureau (SSM) and the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) will jointly launch a new service that aims to provide virtual medical appointments to the elderly in subsidized retirement homes, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong announced yesterday at the Legislative Assembly.

The new service announcement came in response to an inquiry by lawmaker Si Ka Lon about  the use of this type of remote appointments for follow-up consultations for patients who have reduced mobility.

According to Ao Ieong, in the first phase of the project, the equipment will allow communication between patients and physicians and will be installed in the IAS-subsidized elderly homes and will potentially extend to other homes depending on results.

The appointments will be managed by a team at the Conde de São Januário Hospital Center who will handle the registration, consultation, and prescriptions, among other matters.

The Secretary also noted that the sharing of the system that electronically manages the patient health records between the public and private sectors has been available since the third quarter of last year. However, so far, not many private institutions have made use of this service.

Ao Ieong also noted that after the revision of the Organic Law of the Health Services, the SSM is now able to deal with all matters related to the Electronic Health Record Platform, including constitution, maintenance, and management and accordingly can better assess use and operation of the platform.

She noted that, currently, the main goal is to improve information sharing between the different healthcare providers. This is to avoid inconsistencies and errors of judgment caused by lack of information about the patients’ background and medical history, as well as to reduce the unnecessary repetition of exams and laboratory tests to save resources.