The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today that electronic maternity/sick leave certificates and electronic maternity leave certificates will be adopted starting April 24, replacing traditional, manually signed paper versions.

Following the earlier digitalisation of medical and attendance certificates, the new electronic maternity/sick leave certificates, issued by doctors, and electronic maternity certificates issued by midwives, will carry digital signatures with the same legal status as traditional paper copies.

The digital versions will detail the patient’s names, proof of pregnancy, expected date of confinement and any recommended sick leave.

Under the new arrangement, all electronic certificates, including the attendance certificate, will be automatically stored in the “Records” feature on the authority’s HA Go mobile application. Patients can access these records to apply for sick leave or provide proof of consultation, with the option to print hard copies if required. 

The HA noted that the move aims to streamline record management and reduce the risk of patients losing physical documents.

While printed copies of electronic certificates remain available during this initial stage, the authority encourages the public to transition fully to the electronic format.