The Hong Kong government is set to publish a draft law amendment this Friday (March 21) to allow healthcare providers outside Hong Kong to access electronic medical records through the eHealth platform securely.
According to officials, the proposed bill seeks to amend the Electronic Health Record Sharing System Ordinance to enhance data collection, sharing, usage, and protection mechanisms within the eHealth system. One key change involves streamlining the consent mechanism, ensuring that once citizens opt into eHealth, their healthcare providers can directly deposit medical data into their accounts.
Citizens will maintain full control over their personal data, with the ability to grant individual healthcare providers access to their records as needed. The amendment will also authorize the Secretary for Health to require specified healthcare providers to upload critical health data into citizens' eHealth accounts.
Additionally, the bill will grant approved healthcare providers or public health systems outside Hong Kong, such as those participating in the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme, the ability to access and update medical records—but only with explicit consent from the individual. Officials emphasized that outside of these approved circumstances, eHealth records will not be shared across the border, with additional measures being implemented to ensure data privacy and system security.
The amendment will also broaden the list of local healthcare professionals eligible to access eHealth data. This includes those registered under the Department of Health's Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions and other specified professionals working in government-managed healthcare facilities and the Hospital Authority. These additions will expand upon the 13 categories of healthcare workers already subject to statutory registration.
The bill will be introduced in the Legislative Council for its First Reading on March 26.
Related News:
DH to launch catch-up program for human papillomavirus vaccination (first phase) on Dec. 2
Comment