STC Blog
At the 2011 Greater China eHealth ForumXiaohui Zhang - Chief Scientist
I am currently in Hong Kong for the Greater China eHealth Forum 2011. The forum is a joint effort among Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, initiated by CHIMA and eHC. It is aimed at raising the awareness of eHealth and health informatics while promoting eHealth development and project collaboration. The eHealth Forum is a platform for introducing new technologies and international standards and encouraging cooperation between domestic and foreign regions on medical informatics and internationalization of standards.
Today I visited Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Hong Kong with approximately 1,500 beds. In 2003, this hospital became the hub of specialized care during the SARS outbreak — all Hong Kong SARS patients were sent there. In 2005 I interviewed staff at this hospital for CDIS planning. They introduced their Clinical Management Systems which included an EMR system for inpatients and outpatients. I also visited their ER, oncology wards, and pharmacy on this trip.
During the eHealth Forum pre-conference workshop I had an opportunity to connect with eHealth leaders. I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. NT Chueng, who leads the Hong Kong EMR implementation, and with Dr. Kwong, Hong Kong Assistant Director of the Department of Health. I also spoke with Carlos Leong, IT Director of the Macao Health Bureau, and Dr. Ed Hammond, HL7 Founder, 3-term HL7 president and 3-term AMIA President. I took the opportunity to visit with Paul Tsui of the ESRI Hong Kong office.
During the Forum’s Welcome Reception, I had a chance to introduce myself to representatives of companies from around the world — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Germany, and the U.S. The forum doesn’t officially start until tomorrow so I am excited about the possibility of meeting many more global participants! Over 800 people are registered for the eHealth Forum and I am looking forward to giving my presentation tomorrow. So far, it has been a great experience and I am looking forward to the rest of the conference.
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