Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ19: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (July 10):
Question:
Since 2011-2012, the Government has funded the expansion of the clinical
applications of long-acting bronchodilators listed in the Drug Formulary
of the Hospital Authority, and it is estimated that 7 500 patients
suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary (COP) disease will benefit
from the initiative each year. In this connection, will the Government
inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the number of patients benefiting from the initiative each year
since 2011-2012;
(b) the number of patients of the Hospital Authority (HA) who were
referred, after being preliminarily diagnosed of suffering from COP
disease, to the specialist out-patient clinics of the Family Medicine
Division or the Medicine Division for treatment each year since
2011-2012;
(c) the average waiting time for the referred cases mentioned in (b);
(d) whether HA has compiled statistics on the utilisation rate of the
pulmonary function testing equipment in its hospitals and clinics in the
past three years; if it has, of the details, and the average number of
patients who had undertaken a pulmonary function test out of every 100
patients diagnosed by chest physicians; and
(e) the current number of healthcare personnel in HA who have received
relevant training on using the pulmonary function testing equipment?
Reply:
President,
(a), (b) & (c) Since 2011-12, the Government has provided additional
recurrent funding of $44 million for the Hospital Authority (HA) to
expand the clinical application of long-acting bronchodilators. In
2012-13, about 7 500 patients suffering from chronic obstructive
pulmonary (COP) disease were benefited. Doctors will, based on the
clinical needs of patients, assess their conditions and provide them
with the appropriate examinations and treatment (including the pulmonary
function test), or refer them to the appropriate specialist out-patient
(SOP) clinics for follow-up treatment. As the HA has not maintained any
data on patients who were referred to SOP clinics after being
preliminarily diagnosed as having COP disease, the relevant information
is not available.
(d) The pulmonary function testing equipment can facilitate the
diagnosis of new cases of COP disease and monitor development of the
case and the treatment progress. Doctors will offer the appropriate
diagnosis and treatment to patients suffering from COP disease in the
light of their clinical needs. As the diagnosis and treatment required
by each patient may be different, the HA does not collect data on the
utilisation rate of the pulmonary function testing equipment.
(e) All healthcare professionals (including nurses and equipment
operators) using the pulmonary function testing equipment are required
to receive specific on-the-job training to ensure that they are familiar
with the operation of the equipment. The HA has kept operation
guidelines of the pulmonary function testing equipment, and will
calibrate the equipment on a regular basis to ensure its proper
operation. All specialist doctors in respiratory medicine have received
training in analysing pulmonary function test results. Since healthcare
professionals are required to operate many types of equipment, the HA
does not separately collect data on the number of staff who have
received training in using the pulmonary function testing equipment.
Ends/Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:03
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