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Subtheme 1.3 – There is a need for means to bridge the fragmentation in Hong Kong’s
health system. The problem of fragmentation in our health system was highlighted in our
report Fit for Purpose: A Health System for the 21st Century (OHKF, 2018). In this series of
interviews, our stakeholders provided a myriad of solutions to the aforementioned problems,
amongst which the adoption of an integrated multidisciplinary approach has been
repeatedly emphasised. These disciplines are not limited to healthcare or social professions
such as nurses, allied health professionals and social workers. An integrated approach may
involve parties within the greater sphere of patient care, such as pharmaceutical companies,
insurance providers, and patient groups.

Stakeholders’ voices

The Government should inject money into the Hospital Authority with a
clear intention for hiring more social workers and health promoters into
all hospitals’ patient resource centres. Not doctors, not nurses, not
physiotherapists, but social workers.
Academic

Any idea suggested by any single stakeholder, be it hospitals,
clinics, or pharmaceuticals, will not work. They need to
cooperate with pharmaceuticals and insurance providers.
Private service provider

Our stakeholders also identified information sharing as a crucial step in linking fragmented
parts of the system. The Hospital Authority, with its enormous yearly patient flow, can provide
invaluable data for private and research institutions. However, gaps remain in our current
system and the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) could be
further leveraged to promote system integration.

Stakeholders’ voices

Whenever information is entered, it’s not logged in real-time. That means
once a healthcare person entered the information, it would have to wait a
few days before it’s updated in the system. Many issues exist in the eHRSS
system, hindering communications between public and private sectors.
Professional body representative

Theoretically, the Hospital Authority stores massive amounts of
data. Their data most accurately reflects reality as almost
everyone utilises public services.
NGO representative

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