PolyU CPCE Health Conference 2021
20 Sep 2021
PolyU CPCE Health Conference 2021
Gathering over 400 experts and scholars to shed light on
“Post-pandemic health and long-term care: A new paradigm”
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)-affiliated College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) held the CPCE Health Conference 2021 entitled “Post-pandemic health and long-term care: A new paradigm” in hybrid mode on 20 September 2021. Over 400 experts and scholars from around the world were invited to participate; among them, more than 50 attended in person at the PolyU Hung Hom Bay Campus to share their insights into the long-term development of healthcare systems after the pandemic and put forward various ideas for promoting a healthcare reform.
The Conference, held for the sixth consecutive year, was organised in collaboration with the Hong Kong College of Community Health Practitioners, Hong Kong College of Health Service Executives, and Hong Kong College of Nursing and Health Care Management. Prof. Peter P. Yuen, Dean of CPCE and Conference Chair, said in his welcome address that Hong Kong’s healthcare system relies heavily on the Hospital Authority (HA), with much of the resources being distributed to the HA. This model of healthcare is financially unsustainable. “A study indicates that 50% of hospital cases could have been handled far cheaper and more effectively in community-based day care centres or through home care. This is an important consideration in view of rapidly rising medical costs on the one hand, and dwindling government revenues from a depressed economy on the other,” said Prof. Yuen.
Prof. Yuen believed that the government should allocate substantial resources to develop primary healthcare through public-private partnerships, medical-social collaboration and district-based services. By doing so, Hong Kong would be able to enhance the services provided by family physicians and general out-patient clinics as well as increase public awareness of disease prevention and their self-care capability in a bid to rectify our treatment-led healthcare system and relieve pressure on specialist and hospital services in the long run.
Dr Ben Fong, Director of the Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research (CAHMR) of the School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED) of PolyU, said that while the SARS epidemic in 2003 lasted for only three months, COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc across the world for 20 months and would undoubtedly leave lasting repercussions. It is therefore imperative that the long-term healthcare policy be revamped, including the development of medical technology such as telemedicine.
This year’s CPCE Health Conference was attended by experts from Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Britain, Vietnam and Thailand. They shared their insightful views on anti-pandemic and healthcare systems. Distinguished Hong Kong speakers included Dr Tsang Ho-Fai, President of the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine; Prof. David Hui, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Dr Lam Ching-choi, Chairman of the Elderly Commission.
CPCE Health Conference 2021 Website
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