The Primary Healthcare Blueprint issued on Monday is to formulate the direction of development and strategies for strengthening Hong Kong's primary healthcare system to address the challenges brought about by an aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic disease, with a view to enhancing the overall health and quality of life of residents.
The Blueprint puts forward five major directions of primary healthcare reform, including developing a community-based primary healthcare system, strengthening primary healthcare governance, consolidating primary healthcare resources, reinforcing primary healthcare manpower and improving data connectivity and health surveillance.
Lo Chung-mau, health secretary of the HKSAR government, said at a press briefing that Hong Kong needs to introduce a systemic reform of the healthcare system to shift the focus of the present healthcare system from curative treatment to disease prevention, change its emphasis and people's mindset from treatment-oriented to prevention-focused.
Lo noted that the number of people with chronic illnesses in Hong Kong is expected to grow from about 2.2 million now to 3 million in over 10 years, accounting for 37 percent of the HKSAR's total population.
"We strongly believe that the recommendations set out in the Blueprint will guide the direction of development of our healthcare system and enable us to maintain a sustainable and healthy healthcare system that supports every citizen in Hong Kong in the decades ahead," he said.
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