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3 Among patients who have been diagnosed with HDH, we recommend the use of
the RAMP risk-level assessment so that a personalised care plan can be
formulated and the purchaser may determine the care subsidisation for conditions
co-morbid with HDH.
3.1 Patients diagnosed with HDH should be further assessed for risk of
future complications and worsening of their condition within the private
sector.
3.1.1 Patients with low- to medium-risk of future complications should
continue to receive monitoring and disease management services
in the private sector with the same family doctor who conducted their
screening.
3.1.2 Patients with high- to very high-risk of future complications should
similarly be monitored in the private sector with the same family
doctor who conducted their screening and transferred to public sector
hospitals should clinical management be problematic and
complications arise requiring specialist referrals and/or immediate
inpatient care. Such an arrangement may contribute to a stronger
risk-sharing incentive for private sector doctors to participate in the Scheme.
3.1.3 Patients with conditions co-morbid with hypertension, DM, and
hyperlipidaemia should additionally receive follow-up care for their
comorbidities with the private sector doctor who is providing
management for their HDH. Within our economic projections in
Chapter 4.3, we accounted for the cost of co-morbid complications under
the context of fully subsidising all services pertinent to managing the health
and well-being of diagnosed patients, and still found cost-saving impacts of
the Scheme, suggesting that allocating funds to cover co-morbid conditions
will be cost-efficient. Furthermore, learning lessons from existing PPPs such
as the GOPC-PPP, the Government should consider that the scope of drugs
issued by Hospital Authority (HA) include conditions co-morbid with HDH.
4 There will potentially be patients who do not screen positive for HDH
but are considered by the primary care provider to necessitate
follow-up care for other health conditions. The Government should have in
place a clinical protocol to cater for the needs of these individuals, such as arranging for
referral to existing care programmes relevant to their conditions.
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