Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ14: Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme
Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary
for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (January
27):
Question:
The Government has planned to launch the Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot
Programme (the Pilot Programme) in the middle of this year to subsidise members
of the public of specific age groups for receiving colorectal cancer screening.
However, the Government has not announced the details of the Pilot Programme. In
this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) why it has not announced the details of the Pilot Programme;
(2) whether the original estimated expenditure of $420 million for the Pilot
Programme needs to be revised; if so, of the details; whether there is any
change in the target population and estimated number of beneficiaries under the
Pilot Programme; if so, of the details;
(3) given that colonoscopy services will be provided by private healthcare
institutions under the Pilot Programme, of the average amount of fee per
attendance for such services, and the amount of subsidy to be funded by public
money in such a fee, as estimated by the authorities; and
(4) given that the fees for colonoscopy services currently provided by private
healthcare institutions vary greatly (for instance, individual clinics may
charge a fee of as low as about $5,000, which is far lower than those charged by
private hospitals), whether the authorities will, when implementing the Pilot
Programme in future, require various private healthcare institutions
participating in the Pilot Programme to publicise details and fee levels of
their services, so as to enhance transparency and boost competition, thereby
enabling members of the public to make informed choices; if they will, of the
details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In view of a growing and ageing population, the Government anticipates that the
number of new colorectal cancer cases and related healthcare burden will
continue to increase. To handle the rapidly increasing healthcare burden arising
from colorectal cancer, the Government decided to allocate around $420 million
in the five years starting from 2014/15 for the study and implementation of a
pilot programme to provide subsidised colorectal cancer screening for specific
age groups.
(1) To allow the early implementation of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot
Programme (the Pilot Programme), the Department of Health (DH) embarked upon the
relevant study and planning work in January 2014. A multi-disciplinary
taskforce, which comprises representatives from various medical associations and
professional bodies, academic institutions and non-governmental organisations,
was established to carry out the planning, implementation, publicity and
evaluation work of the Pilot Programme, including determining the criteria for
participation, method of screening, funding model and operational logistics. We
also submitted an information paper in December 2014 to brief the Legislative
Council Panel on Health Services the progress of the Pilot Programme. As
mentioned in the Policy Agenda of the 2016 Policy Address, the Pilot Programme
is expected to be launched in mid-2016 the earliest.
(2) The Pilot Programme aims at assessing the implementation of population-based
screening and its implications on the healthcare system. As such, the target
users must be sufficiently representative and the current service capability
should not be overloaded. After due consideration, the taskforce has agreed to
invite eligible Hong Kong residents aged 61 to 70 to undergo faecal
immunochemical test (FIT) screening by batches over three years. Arrangements
will be made for FIT positive participants to undergo colonoscopy.
With reference to the relevant demographic data, the Government estimates that
around 30 per cent of the eligible persons from the age group of 61 to 70 will
participate in the Pilot Programme, and around 90 per cent of those who are FIT
positive (assuming that about 4.5 per cent of the participants are FIT positive)
will be willing to undergo colonoscopy. According to the above projection and
the latest population statistics, the DH estimates that the Pilot Programme will
attract around 300 000 participations in FIT screening and around 10 000
colonoscopies for FIT positive cases. This is similar to the projection made in
the information paper submitted to the Legislative Council Panel on Health
Services in December 2014. Hence, there is no need to revise the original
estimated expenditure of $420 million for the Pilot Programme.
(3) To encourage the public to actively participate in the Pilot Programme and
complete the screening process, the Government will provide subsidised FIT
screening for participants. It will also subsidise those who are found to be FIT
positive to undergo colonoscopy. In this connection, the Pilot Programme will
adopt the public-private partnership model. Participants will first receive
subsidised FIT service provided by participating private primary care doctors.
For participants whose stool samples are found to contain occult blood, they
will be referred by their primary care doctors for subsidised colonoscopy
conducted by private specialists who have participated in the Pilot Programme.
Private colonoscopists participating in the Pilot Programme must fulfil the
specified requirements in terms of qualification, premises and facilities, as
well as service quality and standard. In the planning process, the DH has
maintained close communication with various stakeholders in the medical sector
in order to enlist the support and active participation of private doctors and
private healthcare facilities.
When determining the amount and details of subsidy of the Pilot Programme, the
Government will take into consideration factors including market practice,
experience of existing healthcare subsidy schemes, fairness and equity of
charges as well as affordability and accessibility of service. The Government
will announce relevant information in due course.
(4) To facilitate public understanding of the details of the Pilot Programme and
enhance market transparency, the DH will, on its website which disseminates
information about colorectal cancer prevention, provide detailed information on
the scope of the subsidised colonoscopy service, whether there is a charge
payable to each participating specialist after deduction of the government
subsidy and the respective amount. Participating clinics or private healthcare
facilities must display posters in their premises, showing the charges for easy
reference of the participants of the Pilot Programme.
Ends/Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Issued at HKT 13:52
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