The Hospital Authority (HA) announced yesterday a pilot scheme to provide chronically ill patients residing in Tin Shui Wai North with private medical services at a low cost.

The move aims to alleviate the burden on the Tin Shui Wai general outpatient clinic in Tin Shui Wai South and the consultation room at Pok Oi Hospital, which recorded 163,000 patient visits last year.

Under the three-year plan, about 1,000 patients with chronic illnesses living in Tin Shui Wai North will be able to seek 10 consultations per year from private doctors.

Among the 10 consultations, at least six must be for the patient's chronic illness, such as hypertension and diabetes.

Private doctors participating in the scheme can only charge the patients HK$150 for each consultation.

The patients will only have to pay HK$45 and the government will take care of the rest.

The HA will provide the drugs to the patients.

Those living on comprehensive social security allowances will not need to pay anything, the authority said.

The HA sent out letters to a number of patients Tuesday, inviting them to join the scheme, and will organize briefing sessions for those who sign up.

Director of cluster services of the HA Cheung Wai-lun said so far five out of 14 private doctors in the district have enrolled in the pilot scheme.

Cheung said the scheme will cost HK$6.5 million in the first year, of which 50 percent will be spent on the medical services, 25 percent for the set-up cost and 25 percent for the administration cost.

Cheung reassured that the cost will likely drop in the second and third years, when there will not be any set-up cost.

Cheung said he believed the scheme will promote the concept of having a family physician and help improve the service quality of the outpatient clinic in Tin Shui Wai South.

"Patients normally cannot choose which doctors to consult at an outpatient clinic. But under the scheme, they do have the choice," he said.

He added that the private doctors will have relatively more time to communicate with the patients and be more familiarized with their needs.

Participating private doctors will need to input key clinical information of their patients into the HA's medical records database.

Through the database, the authority will be able to monitor the doctors' services. At the same time, the records can facilitate future treatment for the patients.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to build a public outpatient clinic in Tin Shui Wai North, which will start operation in 2011 the earliest.

But Cheung said the authority may decide to keep the scheme going even after the new clinic comes into operation if there is a strong demand for it.

(HK Edition 06/19/2008 page1)