Hong Kong Medical and Health Council: The number of people registered for eHealth in Hong Kong exceeds 6.57 million and will become a comprehensive health tool for the public

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 23, the Secretary for Health Services and Health of Hong Kong, Professor Lo Chung-mau, gave an opening speech on the latest developments in “eHealth+” at the Legislative Council Health Services Committee meeting. He said that the government will launch the “eHealth Plus” five-year plan in 2024 to upgrade eHealth to a comprehensive digital medical infrastructure integrating medical record exchange, service provision and process management. The “Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan” proposes to continue implementing “eHealth Plus”, building a digital health network covering Hong Kong and connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, developing new functions and expanding the scope of services, integrating all government-funded medical plans, and making the eHealth mobile app a comprehensive health tool for the public.

In the two years since “eHealth Plus” was launched, significant milestones have been achieved. The number of registered eHealth Connect surpassed 6.57 million, accounting for more than 87% of Hong Kong's population. It connects more than 4,700 major public and private healthcare institutions, and has more than 65,000 registered healthcare professionals. The number of electronic health records stored in eHealth by the private sector this year is expected to increase by more than 130% compared to last year. The eHealth mobile app recorded over 4.42 million downloads, and the average number of monthly logins exceeded 1.41 million, a sharp increase of more than 43% over last year.

The Government will continue to promote “eHealth Plus” in accordance with the patient-centered principle and the four major strategic directions, including “unified electronic medical records,” “unified management processes,” “unified health tools,” and “unified data platforms.”

In terms of “unified electronic medical records”, eHealth now covers more than 87% of Hong Kong's population, and registration for the under-18 group has increased by 38% in the past year. The Government uses a three-pronged approach of technical support, funding and incentives to encourage private healthcare providers to store electronic health records. A funding scheme will be launched in 2024 to carry out system improvements with clinical medical management system suppliers and medical groups to achieve seamless interoperability between private systems and eHealth. Last year, the “eHealth+ Connectivity Support Program” and the “eHealth+ Connectivity Certification Scheme” were also launched to promote private healthcare to adopt eHealth connected systems and assist the public to identify and select healthcare providers capable of storing records with eHealth.

Furthermore, the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (Amendment) Regulations 2025 came into effect in December last year, implementing a streamlined consent mechanism. Since the implementation of the mechanism, more than 2.07 million members of the public have adopted simplified consent, and the number of citizens receiving health data from private healthcare providers has increased by 74% each month. Currently, all private hospitals and major medical groups in Hong Kong have the ability to store records in eHealth.

In the future, the Government will assist small-scale clinics, self-employed households and other types of healthcare providers to connect to healthcare in a targeted manner, such as private laboratories and diagnostic radiology centres. The Government will also continue to implement an “opt-out” registration arrangement between the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority, requiring members of the public to register for eHealth to participate in public health plans and services, and enhance the child health management function of the eHealth mobile app to encourage more members of the public, especially parents, to register their children for eHealth.

In terms of “unifying governance processes,” the government is gradually establishing a one-stop “strategic health service operation platform”, integrating some government-funded medical plans and primary care services, and incorporating more plans into the platform and expanding functions. To support the public's cross-border medical needs, the Government extended the benefits of the “Cross-border Health Record” function to all Hong Kong citizens in December last year. In January of this year, the “Personal Data Folder” function was upgraded to allow members of the public to authorize designated overseas medical institutions to deposit radiological examination reports and images into their medical health accounts. The Government will continue to expand the exchange of medical records across borders in an orderly manner, including making it easier for more institutions in the Greater Bay Area to directly deposit more categories of medical records into eHealth.

In terms of the “Unified Health Tool”, members of the public can access Chinese and Western medicine records from local public and private healthcare and overseas institutions through the eHealth Mobile App, and manage all public health plans and services. New features such as “e+ Video”, “e+ Certificate” and electronic consent forms have been added this year to facilitate the public to manage and use personal electronic medical documents and participate in health plans. In the future, we will continue to improve the core functions of the app to help citizens manage their own health and that of their families in one stop.

In terms of a “unified data platform”, the government is gradually enriching the central database of Medicare and supplementing it with data analysis tools. The database will help the Government develop health policies, support medical research, clinical trials and innovation, and promote Hong Kong as an international health innovation hub.

This year coincides with the 10th anniversary of the launch of eHealth. Lu Chung-mau said that eHealth has become an indispensable “sword” in Hong Kong's healthcare system. The government will use “eHealth Plus” to accelerate the development direction of digital intelligence in medical care and provide safer, more efficient, and better healthcare services to the public.