The Health Bureau announced today (March 25) the soft launch of a new channel for the public to join the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) via direct enrolment at clinics of some participating family doctors starting today. The arrangement aims to encourage and provide more convenience for members of the public to initiate early health management so that they could be aware of their health situation if they are having, or may have a high-risk of having, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HT). Apart from enrolling in the Scheme at District Health Centres (DHCs), eligible Hong Kong residents aged 45 or above may also register at some participating clinics to pair with a family doctor for screening.
 
     The CDCC Pilot Scheme has been well received since its rollout. As of March 21, various DHCs have assisted over 27 800 citizens to enrol in the Scheme, among which over half of the participants have completed screening arranged by their family doctors. Of those who have completed screening, more than 5 100 participants (equivalent to some 36 per cent of the participants who had completed screening) were diagnosed with prediabetes, DM or HT, and received further follow-up care and treatment by the participating family doctors for early identification and follow-up.
 
     To further promote the concept of "Family Doctor For All" and encourage the public to maintain a long-term doctor-patient relationship with their family doctors, a number of participating clinics are now open for direct enrolment to the Scheme, and participants can pair with a family doctor at the clinic. Upon searching the list of participating family doctors on the CDCC Pilot Scheme dedicated website, citizens may look for an indication of "Accept CDCC Pilot Scheme enrolment at clinic" next to the doctors’ names. Members of the public may contact the clinic of the corresponding family doctor with the aforementioned indication directly and make an arrangement to pair with the doctor at the clinic. The family doctor will then assist the participant to register for the DHC's membership simultaneously, and conduct a diagnosis, arrange laboratory investigations for him or her as well as give advice on the diagnosis afterwards. Participants who are diagnosed with prediabetes, DM or HT will be taken care of by their family doctor with long-term management under government subsidy. If the participants are prescribed drugs under basic tier of the CDCC Pilot Scheme Drug List, they will not be required to pay any additional drug fee.
 
     Participants who are not diagnosed with DM or HT after screening will be aided by the DHCs/DHC Expresses (DHCEs) to set health management goals. Arrangements will also be made as needed for them to join activities that can help them adopt a healthier lifestyle for staying in good shape.
 
     Among the 510-plus family doctors (at over 660 service points) participating in the Scheme, there are 96 family doctors (at 126 service points) that so far can offer direct matching services at their clinics. For eligible persons who wish to match with other family doctors, they may go to DHCs/DHCEs for matching and enrolment in the Scheme.
 
     The Government rolled out the CDCC Pilot Scheme under the Primary Healthcare Blueprint in mid-November last year, with a view to encouraging Hong Kong residents aged 45 or above with no known medical history of DM or HT to pair with a family doctor for screening, and long-term follow-up by family doctors if diagnosed with DM or HT with Government subsidy under a co-payment model. For more details, members of the public may browse the dedicated website of the CDCC Pilot Scheme (www.primaryhealthcare.gov.hk/cdcc/en), or call the hotline at 2157 0500. Dedicated staff of the hotline will answer calls from 9am to 9pm from Mondays to Saturdays.

Ends/Monday, March 25, 2024
Issued at HKT 19:15

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