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Dr E K Yeoh, Secretary for Health & Welfare, was the Foundation’s guest speaker on 12 January 2001. This is a summary of his remarks.
As the Government's consultation paper on Health Care Reform, "Lifelong Investment in Health" had been recently released, explanation of the proposals set out by the Government in this paper was the subject of Dr Yeoh's talk. Fundamental to the Government's healthcare philosophy were the principles that the pursuit of better health should be a shared responsibility, that everyone should have equal access to quality health care and that changes to the healthcare system should be evolutionary. Furthermore, future development of the healthcare system should be based on enhancing the strengths of the present system. According to Dr Yeoh, the government was focussing its attention on three main areas, the healthcare delivery system, the healthcare quality assurance system and healthcare funding. Key objectives to be addressed in order to improve the health outcomes of the healthcare delivery system are strengthening preventive care, reorganizing primary medical care, developing community-based integrated services, improving the public/private sector interface, facilitating dental care and promoting traditional Chinese medicine. Contributing to the successful achievement of these objectives would involve ensuring that our system would be community focused and patient based and supported by an electronic health information infrastructure.
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It was also important for the private sector to develop a larger role in the provision of hospital-based healthcare services and it was anticipated that as various measures were implemented there would be a readjustment in the balance of public/private sector hospital-based care provision.
In addition to enhancing quality assurance throughout the healthcare system to ensure a high standard of uniformity of service, initiatives would also be taken to improve the patient redress mechanisms. More emphasis would be placed on lifelong education for all categories of medical professionals.
As far as healthcare funding was concerned, Dr Yeoh stated it was not the Government's view that radical measures were required, even though the present approach to funding could not be sustained over the long term at an acceptable cost to the community. The Government's main objective in future would be to direct public funding to lower income patients and to support services that are a major financial burden to patients. Through a combination of continued emphasis on cost control and improved productivity gains, review and reorganization of the public fee structure and the establishment of individual health protection accounts to help pay for service in old age, the community's healthcare needs could continue to be adequately met without the need for the imposition of excessive charges.
The above does not necessarily represent the views of the Foundation
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