The Health Bureau today announced that the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme will be launched on November 13.

Starting that day, all Hong Kong residents aged 45 or above with no known medical history of diabetes mellitus (DM) or hypertension (HT) can enrol in the scheme at any District Health Centre (DHC) or DHC Express (DHCE) and pair with a family doctor for DM and HT screening and long-term follow-up.

A constantly updating list of participating family doctors is now available online, with over 330 family doctors for matching by citizens' own choice.

Under the scheme, eligible people can undergo DM and HT screening, attend doctor consultations, receive laboratory investigations, and, subject to their health condition, be offered prescribed medication, follow-up care at nurse clinics and allied health services in the private healthcare sector by shouldering certain co-payment amounts with government subsidies under a co-payment model.

Those interested in joining the scheme can register as a member of any DHC/DHCE across 18 districts. They will then be assisted to pair with a family doctor upon giving consent to enrol in the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth). People aged 65 or above may settle the co-payment fees with Elderly Health Care Vouchers, including that for consultations, services by nurse clinics and allied health, and laboratory investigations.

The paired family doctor will give a medical consultation to participants and arrange laboratory investigations for them, followed by advice on the diagnosis.

Participants who are diagnosed as not having any sign of DM or HT upon screening will be aided by the DHCs/DHCEs to set health management goals. Arrangements will also be made as needed, for them to join activities that can help them adopt a healthier lifestyle for staying in good shape.

As for those who are diagnosed with prediabetes, DM or HT, they will be supported with government subsidies for long-term follow-up by the family doctor they selected.

Participants diagnosed with prediabetes are entitled to a maximum of four subsidised consultation visits per year, while those diagnosed with DM or HT are entitled to a maximum of six subsidised consultation visits per year.

Participants prescribed with basic-tier drugs for use under the scheme will not be required to pay additional fees for the medication.

There are more than 40 items of relevant basic-tier drugs, including drugs for regulating blood glucose levels and blood pressure as well as drugs for treating episodic illnesses. These drugs are sufficient for treating patients with prediabetes, DM and HT in general. The Government will review the list from time to time to meet the needs of participants.

The Government has also set up an incentive mechanism.

Once the participants have achieved certain health incentive targets such as having their health indexes monitored and subsequently uploaded to the eHealth mobile application, attended follow-up consultations regularly, completed health education programmes or undergone specified examination as advised, they will enjoy a reduction of the co-payment fee with a maximum amount of $150 for their first subsidised consultation in the following programme year.

Click here for more details or call 2157 0500.