Hong Kong can save HK$90,000 per patient with better end-of-life care: think tank
Advertisement
Our Hong Kong Foundation on Thursday released a research report on end-of-life care and proposed five key recommendations in stepping up support to allow dying patients to spend their days outside hospitals.
'If we have a comprehensive end-of-life care system, it could help reduce the usage of hospital services,' said Ryan Ip Man-ki, vice-president of the foundation.
If the city adopted the model allowing dying patients to be managed outside the hospital, the healthcare system could save HK$91,460 per individual on their medical expenses, the foundation said, citing data from an ongoing Hong Kong Jockey Club programme supporting end-of-life care in the community.
The Jockey Club programme was found to help reduce hospitalisation by 11.91 days, accident and emergency admissions by 0.95 times, and intensive care unit stays by 0.29 days.
Advertisement
Hong Kong was working towards giving dying patients more choices in their medical care. Last year, the city passed legislative amendments in which residents who died in residential care homes for the elderly and met other criteria were no longer required to be reported to the coroner's court.
Legislation was also passed in 2024 to legally empower patients to state their medical care wishes on their last days in advance directives.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's top medical bosses taken to task after doctor abandons surgery to defend mistress
Several top university and hospital administrators in China have been held accountable after a noted thoracic surgeon left an anaesthetised patient for over half an hour to confront a nurse in defence of his mistress , a junior doctor. Advertisement The punishments respond to widespread public anger over the scandal, which broke in April, as well as questions about hospital management, professional ethics, and accountability within China's medical institutions. A total of 19 officials from five prestigious institutions had been disciplined, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Friday. The measures included severe warnings from the ruling Communist Party, disciplinary penalties, demotions and dismissals, it said. Party mouthpiece People's Daily welcomed the move, with a commentary published on Saturday calling the NHC's handling of the matter 'authoritative and serious'. The investigation and disciplinary measures helped to restore public confidence in the healthcare sector and medical practitioners, it added. Advertisement Institutions censured include the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), which have been ordered to rectify their practices.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Filipinos push for sex education as teen births, HIV cases rise but is Philippines ready?
Almost three in four Filipinos believe that schools should teach children about sex and reproductive health, a new survey has shown – a marked shift in public sentiment that advocates say underscores the urgency of combating disinformation and religious resistance as teen pregnancies and HIV cases surge in the Philippines In the nationwide survey conducted in March, 73 per cent of respondents agreed it was important to teach 'concepts of sexuality, sexual health and family planning in schools in an age-appropriate and culturally sensitive manner to help students make responsible and informed choices'. Just 13 per cent disagreed and 14 per cent were undecided. The results, released last week, suggest a growing openness among Filipinos to comprehensive sexuality education, despite persistent opposition from religious groups and conservative lawmakers in the Catholic-majority nation. Commissioned by the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) and conducted by Pulse Asia, the survey comes amid rising concern over teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that births among girls aged 10 to 14 rose from 2,411 in 2019 to 3,343 last year. Of these, only 22 babies were fathered by boys of the same age, with the rest – more than 99 per cent – attributed to older men. A patient waits in line at a social hygiene clinic in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Photo: AFP HIV cases in the Philippines have also skyrocketed by 550 per cent from 4,400 in 2010 to 29,600 in 2024, with 252,800 Filipinos estimated to be living with HIV in 2025, according to the World Health Organization.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong reports new imported chikungunya fever case
Hong Kong recorded a new imported case of chikungunya fever on Friday, bringing the total to nine patients with the mosquito-borne disease. A Centre for Health Protection spokesman said that the latest case involved a 23-year-old man who had travelled to Foshan in Guangdong province on August 1. 'He is now in a stable condition. His blood sample tested positive for the chikungunya fever virus upon laboratory testing,' the spokesman said on Friday evening. The man lives in a University of Science and Technology dormitory. The spokesman said the man had been bitten by mosquitoes during his stay in Foshan and had developed a fever, joint pain and rashes five days after his return on August 3. Chikungunya fever is spread by mosquito bites. Photo: Shutterstock Guangdong has recorded more than 8,000 new cases of chikungunya fever over the past three weeks, mostly in Foshan.
