The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
 
     The Hospital Authority (HA) signed a collaboration agreement with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today (September 26). The HA will set up a data platform in Hong Kong Science Park to allow eligible scientific research companies in Science Park to access the HA's healthcare data for scientific research and development purposes. The HA hopes to promote the development of healthcare technology and the quality of the healthcare sector in Hong Kong for the benefit of patients with the open data platform.
 
     The HA Chief Executive, Dr Tony Ko, said, "The HA's data platform is open to scientific research companies in Science Park. It will help promote healthcare research, stimulate innovative ideas, and offer patients higher-quality medical treatment and services. The HA, in full support of the policy direction of the Government to promote scientific research, will render vigorous support to scientific research development and drive the potential use of healthcare data by more scientific research institutions."
 
     Dr Ko added that the HA has been providing healthcare data to local universities for scientific research. It has already provided data support for more than 60 scientific research projects. The results of co-operation with university researchers to promote scientific research development are very satisfactory.
 
     The Chief Executive Officer of the HKSTP, Mr Albert Wong, said, "We look forward to seeing scientific research companies in the Science Park develop more breakthrough technologies by using the healthcare data in the platform to fuel Hong Kong's medical transformation. The HKSTP will further enhance co-operation with the HA to promote the development of Hong Kong's healthcare industry and benefit the public."
 
     According to the agreement, eligible scientific research companies in Science Park can access the HA's data platform remotely at designated locations in Park, which includes anonymous data of around 200 000 patients randomly selected from the HA database. The data contains patients' demographic characteristics, attendance records to hospitals or clinics, clinical diagnosis, procedures, medication and examination results, etc.
 
     The HA has attached great importance and established a robust mechanism to protect the safety of patient data and privacy. Information that could identify patients has been deleted from the data available for access. According to the agreement, Science Park will ensure that companies comply with the requirements of the HA when using the data and that the data will only be used with authorisation. The HA and Science Park will regularly review the arrangements and monitor data usage.

Ends/Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Issued at HKT 17:00

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