87% of HK citizens signed up for eHealth

Hong Kong’s electronic health record sharing system, eHealth, is marking its tenth anniversary.

The platform allows patients and healthcare providers to access and share health records across the public and private sectors.

The Health Bureau says more than 6.5 million people have registered for eHealth, accounting for around 87 percent of Hong Kong’s population.

The Health Bureau is kicking off a series of events today to mark ten years since the launch of eHealth.

Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau says the system has became an essential part of Hong Kong’s healthcare infrastructure. It now connects more than 4,700 public and private healthcare providers, with over 63,000 registered healthcare professionals.

Over the past decade, new functions have been added, including cross-boundary health records, which allow users to access their records when seeking medical care outside Hong Kong.

Getting elderly users to make full use of the digital platform remains a challenge. According to official figures released in May this year, while registration among elderly people is already high, less than half of those registered have activated the app.

Under a new programme, secondary school students will teach elderly people how to use the eHealth app.

Student from Tai Kwong Hilary College: “The elderly in this event, they joined this event because their family didn’t really have much time to teach them how to use the app. They really need people and time to teach them well.”

If elderly family members are not familiar with smartphones, they can also authorise a caregiver to help manage their health records.