Uncovering the Best Healthcare Practice

Abstract

I was invited to the captioned meeting where presenters were mostly Hospital Chief Executives, and I represented the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital. I participated in the session on “How Information Technology IT can help to provide a patient-centered healthcare”. It was amazing the kind of advancement that some hospital have made (eg 溫州醫院) in IT to facilitate patients in their flow within the hospital, from registration, consultation, investigation, medication, reminder to fee payment. All these can be done using the cell phone application function. With the massive number of patients passing through the hospitals, IT will play a key role in patient-centered healthcare. My presentation is more on the new developments that have been brought into HKU-Shenzhen Hospital for healthcare reform. These are differentiation of care into Primary/Specialist care (先全科, 後轉科), team-care and multi-disciplinary approach, adequate consultation time, setting up of Patients Relations Office to improve 醫患關係, purchase of medical indemnity insurance and promoting Good Medical Ethical Practice and Open Disclosure. Patients are informed of their rights and responsibilities, and many are engaged as volunteers for the hospital so that they can be in close touch with the hospital culture that is different from the past. The rapid increase in patient numbers shows that the Patient-centered Care has worked.