The 600-bed University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, located in Shenzhen's Futian district, stands as a model of medical and healthcare cooperation between the two cities. The hospital plans to advance the industrialization of medical technology this year, while exploring cross-border medical cooperation modes to benefit residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
A forerunner of medical integration between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH), plans to advance the industrialization of medical technology this year, while exploring cross-border medical cooperation modes to benefit residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The hospital’s management unveiled its priorities at a gathering with media outlets on Tuesday.
The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital is the first mainland healthcare institution to join a scheme that allows Hong Kong-registered drugs to be used in the mainland for urgent clinical use
Kenneth Cheung Man-chee, the hospital’s chief executive and chair professor at HKU’s Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, said his team will make full use of the HKU-SZU as a clinical platform to promote innovations in treatment.
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Cheung said improving the management of the healthcare system is another priority of his work this year. HKU-SZH also plans to establish a medical technology research and development center in the under-construction Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone at Lok Ma Chau Loop, according to Research Deputy Hospital Chief Executive Guan Xinyuan.
Guan said the research and development center will focus on technology transformation in orthopedics and reproductive science, adding that he hopes the center can develop more medical technologies for hospitals in the mainland and Hong Kong.
Co-founded by the Shenzhen government and the University of Hong Kong in 2012, HKU-SZH has been one of the pioneers in exploring cross-border medical cooperation for residents of the Greater Bay Area.
The hospital is the first mainland healthcare institution to join a scheme that allows Hong Kong-registered drugs to be used in the mainland for urgent clinical use. Until February, the hospital had approved the use of 20 drugs and 11 medical devices under the scheme, which helps nearly 1,500 patients, according to the hospital.
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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government launched the Elderly Healthcare Voucher Scheme in 2015, allowing mainland-based Hong Kong elders to use vouchers to pay for outpatient services provided by HKU-SZH’s designated clinics.
Since 2020, the HKSAR government has also worked with the hospital to provide follow-up consultations for Hong Kong patients stranded on the mainland due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of August 2022, the scheme had helped over 45,600 Hong Kong patients.