HKUMed’s new Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Collaboratory (CPHC) is consolidating our considerable existing resources in primary health to support its development across Hong Kong. The government established the Primary Healthcare Commission in July to better plan for medical services and allocate resources, and help alleviate pressure on hospitals, which are often treated as the first point of care. HKUMed supports this goal because a stronger primary healthcare system also holds promise of significant benefits for patients, based on substantial evidence from comparable jurisdictions. ‘A robust primary healthcare system entails comprehensive, continuous and co-ordinated person-centred care, improving the overall health and quality of life of Hong Kong citizens,’ said Dean Professor Chak-sing Lau. ‘With our CPHC in place, we aim to raise primary healthcare standards through education, research and knowledge exchange, promoting collaborative and interdisciplinary care for our community.’ Primary care can be thought of as a series of ever-expanding rings. The smallest are more treatment oriented – family medicine, where patients are treated by community doctors, and multidisciplinary care where teams collaborate across medical disciplines to provide comprehensive care. The larger circle encompassing primary healthcare, focuses not only on managing disease but also promoting wellness, a function served by Hong Kong’s District Health Centres (DHCs), staffed by nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, social workers and related professionals. Finally, there is the policy-level ring, which includes health informatics and innovations. Professor Victoria Wong Wing-yee, Associate Dean (Clinical Affairs), is tasked with bringing together the various primary healthcare-related disciplines in the Faculty to set up the Collaboratory, building on the foundations laid out by HKUMed’s family medicine and public health programmes, as well as community programmes and projects in nursing, pharmacy and Chinese medicine. ‘All along, our various schools and departments have excelled in developing evidence-based and cost-effective service models and providing undergraduate and professional training,’ she highlighted. ‘Our focus now is on taking this forward to propel the development of primary healthcare and building a primary healthcare-centric academic ecosystem, highlighting multidisciplinary teamwork, community engagement and wellness. Working with DHCs is a good starting point.’ Professor Wong added that students’ exposure may be broadened with placements in DHCs, as well as our own newly established HKUMed Community Pharmacy. CPHC has six initial aims. Three of them relate to traditional academic roles: advancing teaching and research in primary healthcare and widening community engagement. The other three focus on boosting collaboration, driving innovation and promoting preventive care. FEATURE + New Collaboratory to Advance Primary Healthcare →Professor Victoria Wong Wing-yee Currently, primary healthcare is promoted through the Research Mixer to encourage exchange among scholars, and through the Primary Healthcare Summit, titled ‘Primary Healthcare Reform: Towards a Better Future’, which was held from 8 to 9 November 2024 on the HKUMed campus. The Summit brought together some 800 participants from Hong Kong and beyond. 20
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