About the consortium

Background | Vision | Mission | Key Initiatives | Organization Structure

A. Background
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. 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.

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, iProA, Hong Kong Society of Medical Informatics, Department of Health, Hospital Authority and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer came together and founded the eHealth Consortium organization; a public-private-partnership which aims to promote collaboration between healthcare and IT professionals in both private and public sectors for healthcare services with enhanced accessibility, quality and effectiveness for a healthier tomorrow for everyone in Hong Kong.

The eHealth Consortium will deliver on its mission through implementation of initiatives that will contribute to health care reform in Hong Kong. Current focus is on the following 3 key areas:

1. Data Sharing and Standardisation
2. Education and Capacity Building
3. Incubation & Value Creation

We invite all healthcare and IT professionals in Hong Kong to take part in this effort. We believe that through public-private-partnership and co-operation between healthcare 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.

B. Vision
To bring IT and health care professionals together to facilitate and promote the use of IT as a complementary tool in the health care industry.

To position Hong Kong strategically in providing a more accessible and effective health care system for the benefit of all through the use of medical informatics and Information and Communications Technology ("ICT").

C. Mission
Our mission is therefore 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 health care services in Hong Kong.

	Provide continual eHealth related education and training to the healthcare and IT professionals and to explore cooperation with the academic institutions;
	Conduct roundtable with healthcare services providers to ascertain their needs and define possible solutions to jump-start eHealth adoption in the private sector; and
	Initiate pilot projects on eHealth between public and private sectors

E. Organization Structure

	Founding Member Organizations		Members of the Steering Committee
	Member Organizations		Members of the Executive Committee
	Members of the Advisory Committee		Honorary Patron - Dr. Tam Wah Ching
	Honorary Advisor - Ms. Sandra LeeJP		Sub-committees