The Health Bureau today said that as of July 23 this year, over 140,000 citizens have already enrolled for the Chronic Disease Co-Care (CDCC) Pilot Scheme, and the target of having around 200,000 participants during the three-year pilot period is expected to be achieved earlier than planned.

While responding to media enquiries about the pilot scheme, the bureau highlighted that it has been well received since its launch in November 2023.

Currently, over 95% of the approximately 35,600 participants diagnosed with prediabetes, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT) or hyperlipidaemia had chosen to continue receiving follow-up treatments from their family doctors.

The Government commissioned a local university in the first quarter of 2024 to conduct a study to assess the progress in meeting various targets and the overall performance of the pilot scheme.

Preliminary analysis indicated that participants’ health conditions improved overall after receiving health counselling and medical treatment under the pilot scheme.

The study team recruited 614 participants from 18 District Health Centres (DHCs) or DHC Expresses for a questionnaire survey.

Survey results showed that participants were satisfied with the pilot scheme, with the overall satisfaction scored at 82.5 out of 100.

Furthermore, 96.1% of participants with HT and 98% of participants with DM reported improvements in self-health management capabilities.

Apart from expanding the pilot scheme to selected General Out-patient Clinics under the Hospital Authority in phases since late March this year, the Government is also reviewing the pilot scheme’s effectiveness and optimisation strategies.

The bureau pointed out that the Government will expand the co-care scheme based on the experience gained from the pilot phase, with a view to deepening the initiative by transforming it into a CDCC Platform.

It added that the Government will use hepatitis B screening and management as a pilot arrangement.