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Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (July 10):
Question:
Since 2011-2012, the Government has funded the expansion of the clinical applications of long-acting bronchodilators listed in the Drug Formulary of the Hospital Authority, and it is estimated that 7 500 patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary (COP) disease will benefit from the initiative each year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the number of patients benefiting from the initiative each year since 2011-2012;
(b) the number of patients of the Hospital Authority (HA) who were referred, after being preliminarily diagnosed of suffering from COP disease, to the specialist out-patient clinics of the Family Medicine Division or the Medicine Division for treatment each year since 2011-2012;
(c) the average waiting time for the referred cases mentioned in (b);
(d) whether HA has compiled statistics on the utilisation rate of the pulmonary function testing equipment in its hospitals and clinics in the past three years; if it has, of the details, and the average number of patients who had undertaken a pulmonary function test out of every 100 patients diagnosed by chest physicians; and
(e) the current number of healthcare personnel in HA who have received relevant training on using the pulmonary function testing equipment?
Reply:
President,
(a), (b) & (c) Since 2011-12, the Government has provided additional recurrent funding of $44 million for the Hospital Authority (HA) to expand the clinical application of long-acting bronchodilators. In 2012-13, about 7 500 patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary (COP) disease were benefited. Doctors will, based on the clinical needs of patients, assess their conditions and provide them with the appropriate examinations and treatment (including the pulmonary function test), or refer them to the appropriate specialist out-patient (SOP) clinics for follow-up treatment. As the HA has not maintained any data on patients who were referred to SOP clinics after being preliminarily diagnosed as having COP disease, the relevant information is not available.
(d) The pulmonary function testing equipment can facilitate the diagnosis of new cases of COP disease and monitor development of the case and the treatment progress. Doctors will offer the appropriate diagnosis and treatment to patients suffering from COP disease in the light of their clinical needs. As the diagnosis and treatment required by each patient may be different, the HA does not collect data on the utilisation rate of the pulmonary function testing equipment.
(e) All healthcare professionals (including nurses and equipment operators) using the pulmonary function testing equipment are required to receive specific on-the-job training to ensure that they are familiar with the operation of the equipment. The HA has kept operation guidelines of the pulmonary function testing equipment, and will calibrate the equipment on a regular basis to ensure its proper operation. All specialist doctors in respiratory medicine have received training in analysing pulmonary function test results. Since healthcare professionals are required to operate many types of equipment, the HA does not separately collect data on the number of staff who have received training in using the pulmonary function testing equipment.
Ends/Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:03
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