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Written by: Zheng Cuibi
2020-09-04 08:10
Last update date: 2020-09-04 08:10
The imbalance between the public and private medical systems in Hong Kong has resulted in excessive pressure on the public healthcare system for a long time.
Although the government has launched a number of public-private collaboration programs, Dirk Schraven, the executive director of the Gateway Hospital, revealed in an interview with "Hong Kong 01" that in fact, the number of patients referred from public hospitals to private hospitals is not large.
In response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic in recent months, the Gateway Hospital has launched a "20% off package discount plan" for patients in public hospitals. Over a hundred patients participated. Dirk bluntly said that the number has been more than previous collaborative plans.
He criticized the public and private healthcare in Hong Kong as two divided worlds, lacking interaction and cooperation, and urged the government to improve the problem.
The Hong Kong Yi Hospital provides testing services for the new crown virus, and the testing price is close to 2,000 yuan. Dirk said it has reduced the price as much as possible.
(Photo by Gao Zhongming)
When the new pneumonia epidemic in Hong Kong was in dire straits, public hospitals were tight, and many relatively "non-emergency" services were suspended.
The spokesperson of the Hospital Authority said in response to the figures on the public-private medical cooperation plan that under the epidemic, the newly launched projects include the treatment of neonatal jaundice, caesarean delivery, radiotherapy for cancer patients, orthopedic surgery, cystoscopy, gastroscopy and Breast cancer surgery.
As of July 15, the HA has referred 113 babies, 9 pregnant women, 58 cancer patients, 37 orthopedic patients, 162 urology patients, 186 patients requiring gastroscopy and 4 breast cancer patients. Go to a private institution for treatment.
Dirk criticized the public and private healthcare in Hong Kong as two divided worlds, lacking interaction and cooperation, and urged the government to improve the problem.
(Photo by Gao Zhongming)
In an exclusive interview, Dirk Schraven, Executive President of the Gateway Hospital, revealed that although the Hospital Authority has launched several public-private partnership programs (PPP) in the past ten years, the number of patients involved is not large; 7 additional projects have been introduced in response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic The new collaborative project is also "not very successful."
Dirk bluntly said that public and private healthcare in Hong Kong are like two divided worlds, lacking interaction and cooperation. He believes that this situation stems from the fact that citizens can enjoy public healthcare for free, but the cost of private healthcare depends on insurance. He believes that fundamentally Changing the design of the system will help promote public-private cooperation.
Dirk said that although the Hospital Authority has launched several public-private partnerships (PPP) over the past decade, the number of patients involved is not large.
(Profile picture)
For example, he pointed out that in recent months, the Hong Kong Yi Hospital has launched a "20% discount package plan" for patients in public hospitals. About 120 patients participated, half of which used the discount to complete orthopedic operations, followed by surgical operations.
He believes that this plan is different from some previous PPPs, and instead allows patients to choose which private hospital to go to. "Patients find the price of our plan attractive and can use insurance to pay for it. Patients under PPP cannot decide for themselves, but the public hospital arranges. It also requires a lot of permission, and the arrangement process may not be smooth."
How can private hospitals promote public-private cooperation, for example, is it feasible to assist in receiving patients with the new coronavirus?
Dirk said that private hospitals in Singapore, Turkey and other places accept patients with the new crown, but the Hong Kong government hopes to concentrate patients in public hospitals with negative pressure facilities. It believes that it is easier to manage and will not use private hospitals to deal with the epidemic.
Earlier, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had announced that a temporary hospital would be built on the land near the Asia Expo to receive patients with new coronary pneumonia.
The epidemic also tested the laboratory capabilities of local institutions.
The scale of the laboratories of the Grandview Hospital is small. Dirk pointed out that at first it could only do 50 new coronavirus tests per day, and now it can do up to 200 tests per day. So far, it has completed 1,000 tests.
The testing price of the hospital is close to 2,000 yuan. Dirk said that it has reduced the price as much as possible. However, the reagents come from Singapore, Germany and other places, so it is difficult to purchase the goods, and the cost of labor is not cheap.
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has also affected the services and profit of the Hong Kong Yi Hospital.
Dirk said that some outpatients and inpatients delayed or even cancelled appointments, but at the same time, due to the suspension of non-emergency services in public hospitals, a number of patients were affected and switched to private services, which also benefited Harbour View. There hasn't been a sharp decline, and it has seen a rebound in the past one or two months.
He predicts that the annual revenue will fall.
The Hong Kong Yi Hospital focuses on the "all-inclusive fixed-rate medical package", saying that it will introduce the treatment plan to the patients when they are admitted to the hospital, so that the patients can have a budget for the treatment costs.
(Screenshot of Fragment from Hong Kong Yi Hospital)
On the other hand, the Grand Hyatt Hospital’s main "all-inclusive fixed-charge medical package" has promised to provide local residents with package-based services through standard beds for at least 51% of the hospital bed days. However, the hospital has been in operation for 3 years. For many years, it has not reached the standard.
Dirk responded that it is difficult to determine when the standard will be met, but the overall data has been rising, and he is trying to get doctors used to it and make insurance companies understand the plan.
Dirk said that the hospital has launched personalized packages to increase the use of package prices to meet government requirements.
According to Dirk, 80% of patients will choose the top 20 packages, such as total artificial knee replacement and cataract surgery, with a concentrated amount.
He admitted that the biggest challenge at the moment is to formulate a package for internal medicine patients. Another Chinese University hospital that focuses on package fees will be opened next year. Dirk believes that with the joint promotion of both parties, more private hospitals can participate.
Dirk said that private medical institutions lack transparency. The Grace Hospital plans to gradually publish statistics on its service quality on the Internet so that the public can choose suitable medical institutions based on relevant information.
(Photo by Gao Zhongming)
Regarding whether there is a lack of cooperation between public and private healthcare, the Food and Health Bureau replied that the HA will carefully consider the potential complexity of new projects, as well as the ability and adaptability of the private market, etc.; it will explore other public-private collaboration plans in the future The feasibility.
As for whether the government has levied a fine on the Gateway Hospital for failing to meet the standard for package-style charges?
The Food and Health Bureau stated that the government has been monitoring hospitals to implement relevant service contract requirements and is following up on past hospitals' performance of contract requirements.
The Victoria Hospital recently partnered with the Hong Kong Telecom Group to launch an application called "DrGo" to provide remote medical services.
(Provided by Hong Kong Yi Hospital)
In addition, the Gateway Hospital recently partnered with the Hong Kong Telecom Group to launch an application called "DrGo", which provides remote medical services, including conversations with doctors, examination of medical reports, and medicines prescribed by doctors will also be delivered to users' designated addresses. , It is convenient for patients who do not want to go to the hospital for medical treatment during the epidemic.
Dirk also said that private medical institutions lack transparency. In the future, the Gateway Hospital plans to gradually publish its service quality statistics on the Internet, such as the average operation time, hospitalization days, postoperative quality of life, readmission rate, etc., and will also upload them. The "net recommendation score" allows the public to understand the performance of the hospital.
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