eHealth Consortium Limited

Vision and Mission

Vision 願景

致力為香港創造一個優良的醫療保健系統，使公眾健康的資訊、病人的記錄及病歷可隨時於公私營部門互通，透過醫療資訊、資訊及通訊科技的應用，令醫療服務更和諧、更優質和更有效。

Our vision is to create a well-integrated environment where the public health and patient information can be readily shared between the public and private sectors for the enhancement of the accessibility, quality and effectiveness of healthcare services in Hong Kong.

Mission 使命

帶動醫療專業人員和資訊科技專業人員，共同推動和促進資訊科技在醫療行業的使用，並通過醫療信息及資訊科技的使用，為香港全民提供一個更方便和有效的醫療系統。

Our mission is therefore to:
- Bring IT and healthcare professionals together to facilitate and promote the use of IT as a key enabler in the healthcare industry.
- Position Hong Kong strategically in providing a more accessible and effective healthcare system for the benefit of all through the use of medical informatics and information and Communications Technology ("ICT")

Our Role 工作重點

本會致力為從事醫療資訊和資訊科技行業的所有持分者提供一個公私營伙伴關係的平台，並將焦點放在專業培訓、公眾認識和宣傳、解決持分者所關注的問題上。此外，本會亦協助奠定醫療數據標準化工程的基礎，以促進政府和私營部門之間的討論。

We believe that the quality, accessibility and effectiveness of healthcare services would be enhanced via the use of ICT.  The eHC Limited shall be the platform to bring together policy makers, the professionals of related fields, as well as the stakeholders from the community, to advise and promote the use of ICT in achieving the goal of providing better healthcare services to our society.

Key Initiatives 倡議

To keep up the eHealth momentum generated from the eHealth Forums in 2006 and 2009 and since the establishment of the eHealth Consortium ("eHC"), it was suggested that the following initiatives should be executed in 2009-10:

* To facilitate and promote the adoption of a territory-wide eHR system.

* To provide education and training to healthcare & IT professionals on advanced eHealth technology & applications.

* To facilitate the implementation of pilot projects for eHealth implementation.

* To facilitate the advancement and acceptance of world-wide standard in eHealth.

Background 背景

In 2003, Hong Kong was hit hard by SARS, an unknown infectious disease that threatens the life of Hong Kong people. Against such a backdrop, the Internet Professional Association (iProA) and the Department of Health jointly organised the "IT in Health Forum" in July 2003 under the initiatives of "DO IT Campaign" of the Legislative Councillor Hon. Mr. SIN Chung Kai.

(Above: Inauguration Ceremony of IT in Health in 2003)

This forum provided a platform for knowledge and experience exchange among IT and health professionals in the areas of disease tracking and control. One of the highlights of the event was the publication of the "White Paper: The IT Infrastructure of Hong Kong's Centre for Disease Control (CDC)", which pinpointed the importance of data sharing and development of local expertise in public health informatics, and aroused much professional interest in the subject.  Subsequent implementation of the "Communicable Disease Information System" for disease surveillance by the Hong Kong SAR Government is crucial to Hong Kong in view of the threat of the avian flu.

Recognizing the important role of information and communication technologies in support of health care, the Fifty-Eight World Health Assembly called on its member states to implement plans for eHealth services for cost effective health administration, to mobilize multi-sectoral collaboration for determining evidence-based eHealth standards and norms, and electronic public health information systems for surveillance of and rapid response to disease and public-health emergencies.

(Above: The inaugural eHealth Forum in 2006 is a signature event of the eHealth Consortium.)

To further capitalize on awareness generated in 2003, to further promote the use of IT in the health care industry, to move forward with important recommendations of the White Paper and to raise public awareness to the call of the Fifty-Eighth World Health Assembly, Internet Professional Association (iProA) and Hong Kong Society of Medical Informatics (HKSMI) came together and founded the eHealth Consortium organization with supports from the Hospital Authority, the Department of Health and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.  eHealth Consortium was established by such public-private-partnership which aims to promote collaboration between health care and IT professionals in both private and public sectors for health care services with enhanced accessibility, quality and effectiveness for a healthier tomorrow for everyone in Hong Kong.

We invite all health care and IT professionals in Hong Kong to take part in this effort. We believe that through public-private-partnership and co-operation between health care and IT professionals, we will be "Building a Healthy Tomorrow" for the people of Hong Kong as envisioned in the Hong Kong SAR government's recent consultation paper on health care reform.

The Board and Committees

Steering Committee 指導委員會

Each founding member organization shall appoint one representative to form the Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee shall convene biannually to provide steer on key directions and initiatives of the eHC Limited.

Members 成員

Chairperson:

• Dr Winnie TANG Shuk Ming, President, Internet Professional Association

Members:

• Dr WONG Chun Por, Chairman, Hong Kong Society of Medical Informatics
• Dr Heston KWONG Kwok Wai, Assistant Director of Health, Department of Health
• Dr CHEUNG Ngai Tseung, Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Hospital Authority

Advisory Committee 顧問委員會

Distinguished members from the society who would provide invaluable insights to the eHC Limited would be invited to join the Advisory Committee.  The Advisory Committee members would provide guidance and support to the Steering Committee and the Executive Committee.  While the Advisory Committee assumed no fixed meeting schedule, the Advisory Committee members would render their advice to members of the Steering and Executive Committee when necessary.

Members 成員

Chairman:

• Dr LAM Ping Yan, JP, Director of Health, Department of Health

Members:

• Dr Regis CABRAL, Member, ICT-LEAP, Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umea University, Sweden
• Prof Bernie H K HUANG, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, USA; Chair Professor of Medical Informatics, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Dr Gunnar O KLEIN, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• Prof LEE Shiu Hung, Honorary Adviser, School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Dr Elizabeth QUAT PhD, Co-Founder and Immediate Past President (2000-2006), Internet Professional Association
• Dr SHEN Shir Ming, Deputy Director (Academic), HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE)
• Ms Nancy TSE, Director (Finance), Hospital Authority
• Prof TSUI Lap Chee, Vice-Chancellor, the University of Hong Kong
• Prof XIAO Shao Bo, Coordinator for e-Health Research, School of Life Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology

Board 董事局

All member organizations that are interested to contribute to the initiatives of the eHC Limited can nominate a representative to join the Board as well as its sub-committees.  The Board shall convene 3-4 times a year to take forward the directions and initiatives set out by the Steering Committee and report progress to the eHC Limited.

Members of the Board 董事局成員 (2010-2012)

President:

• Dr CP WONG, Chairman – Hong Kong Society of Medical Informatics (HKSMI)

Vice President:

• (Events & Communication)
  Ms Ingrid AU, Manager, Public Sector – Cisco Systems (HK)
• (Membership Affairs)
  Mr Ricky CHAN, Managing Director – Fresenius Netcare
• (Industry Relations)
  Mr Ken CHAN, Member – HK Information Technology Joint Council (ITJC)
• (Internal Affairs)
  Mr Kenny CHIEN, Executive Vice Chairman – HK United Youth Science and Technology Association (HKUYSTA)
• (Education & Training)
  Mr Reggie WONG, Chairman – Information and Software Industry Association (ISIA)

Other Board Members:

• Ms June LUI, President – College of Nursing, HK (CNHK)
• Ms Anna LIN, Chief Executive Officer – GS1 HK
• Dr Eric TANG, Council Member – HK Doctors Union (HKDU)
• Mr Joe LOK, Vice Chairman (Information Security) & Hon Treasurer – HK Software Industry Association (HKSiA)
• Dr Winnie TANG, President – Internet Professional Association (iProA)
• Mr Timothy MA, Executive Director – Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA)