In brief
The Hospital Authority will add general outpatient booking and a caregiver mode (up to 10 relatives or friends) to "HA Go" in the third quarter of this year. Personalised features require in-person identity verification at a hospital activation station, and the Authority is also studying video consultations.
The Hospital Authority launched the mobile application "HA Go" last December, providing a one-stop mobile platform for patients to view and book specialist outpatient appointments and to pay fees through the app. "HA Go" will roll out more new features in the third quarter of this year, extending appointment booking to general outpatient clinics and adding a caregiver mode that allows patients to invite relatives and friends to help use the app.
After downloading the app, members of the public can browse general information on medical services, such as clinic arrangements during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Once their identity has been verified and a personalised account activated, they can go on to view appointment records, medication information and other personalised information.
Identity must be verified in person at a hospital activation station
To make it easier for patients and members of the public to access and manage their health information, the Hospital Authority launched the mobile application "HA Go". Through the app, the public can obtain information on medical services. After activating a personalised account, users can also view their personal appointment records and medication information at Hospital Authority hospitals or clinics, pay hospital bills, book new specialist cases, carry out rehabilitation exercises as prescribed, and more.
Users must enter their personal details in the app and, using the QR code generated by the app, go in person to an activation station at a hospital and present their identity card for verification before they can activate a personal account and use the personalised features of "HA Go". The Hospital Authority encourages the public to download the app and fill in their details first, then go to a hospital or clinic with the QR code and identity card to activate the account. Identity verification and activation can be completed within one minute.
Studying the use of "HA Go" for video consultations
At present, members of the public must go to a specialist outpatient clinic in person to book a new case, unlike general outpatient clinics, which offer telephone booking. "HA Go" therefore first offers a booking function for new specialist outpatient cases. Users can view appointment records and cancel appointments in the app, and under a pilot scheme at United Christian Hospital, they can even apply within the app to postpone a follow-up appointment. It is expected that in the third quarter of this year, "HA Go" will launch a new function allowing the public to book general outpatient appointments, covering a wider range of services.
"HA Go" will also add a caregiver mode, in which a patient can invite up to 10 relatives or friends to help and to use some account functions, including viewing appointment records and paying hospital bills. The caregiver mode will likewise be launched in the third quarter of this year.
In addition, the Hospital Authority is studying the use of "HA Go" for video consultations, whereby patients may receive a consultation reminder on their mobile phone and immediately open the app to have a video consultation with the doctor. "HA Go" currently provides videos and reminds patients at appropriate times to do daily rehabilitation exercises after discharge. The Hospital Authority will add games designed for patients with cognitive impairment, and also hopes to extend "HA Go" services to children.
As of May, "HA Go" had been downloaded about 107,000 times, while about 46,000 users had activated a personalised account and completed identity verification. Regarding the gap between the number of downloads and the number of activated accounts, Pang Yuk-wah, Chief Manager (Health Informatics) of the Hospital Authority, said that "HA Go" was launched last December and that the epidemic was believed to have led fewer people to go to hospitals in person to verify their identity and activate accounts. She urged members of the public to activate their accounts at the same time as their follow-up appointments, and said that adding more activation stations would be considered in future.
Fung Kei, Senior Health Informatics Manager of the Hospital Authority, said that specialist patients have welcomed "HA Go", and that the most commonly used functions at present are viewing medication information and appointment records. In the longer term, Pang Yuk-wah hopes that the public will use the mobile phone, which is closest to their daily lives, to continue to keep proper track of their personal health information. Even when people see a private doctor, they can clearly inform the doctor of information such as records of drug allergies, so the app helps improve overall healthcare.
Original article: https://bit.ly/2MFBq6t