Hong Kong's registered private doctors now are able to exchange information about patients with the public sector online.

A new system launched Tuesday is expected to facilitate clinical work and infectious disease reporting, Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA) announced.

An estimated total of 450 private practitioners have joined the Clinic Management System (CMS) Wuhan Version, the city's first integrated medical information exchange system.

The former version had 315 private doctors registered.

As an integrated hub, the server on the CMS Wuhan Version is able to link the medical information system for private doctors with the ones for official medical records, including the eHealth System of the Food and Health Bureau and the Central Notification Office System for the Department of Health.

The upgraded CMS also made various government-subsidized healthcare schemes accessible to private doctors, including the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme and the Vaccination Subsidy Schemes.

The HKMA said the new system will open the door for private doctors to give better care to patients.

"As the first integrated server to connect the private practitioners with the public sector, it is a major step for electronic medical information exchange between the two healthcare sectors," said Dr Ho Chung-ping, chairman of the HKMA Information Technology Committee.

Ho added that the private and public medical sectors had encountered great obstacles in communication.

Those problems can now be eliminated with the Wuhan Version, he indicated.

"This was a breakthrough for infectious disease reporting as private doctors now have easier and more efficient access. This could certainly help us to maintain a closer watch on infectious disease," said Gabriel Leung, under secretary for Food and Health, at the news conference.

The upgrading work of the CMS Wuhan Version started in 2009 and cost around HK$1 million.

The system acquired its name from Wuhan, a city in central China, which sits in the middle reaches of Yangtze River and Han River, signifying the joining of streams of information.

China Daily

(HK Edition 01/19/2011 page1)