The Health Bureau (SSM) said Monday that it will launch a mobile application allowing residents to check their medical records stored by the public health sector.
The bureau said that it expects the new mobile application to be launched in the first quarter of next year.
The bureau hosted a press conference yesterday at the public Conde de Sâo Januário Hospital Centre to brief the media about the preliminary achievements of the government’s smart health services project that is ongoing.
Addressing the press conference, Health Bureau Director Lei Chin Ion noted that the local government signed the Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation on Smart City Development with Alibaba Group in August last year. According to the agreement, the Hangzhou-based company will support the local government in building a cloud computing data centre, a big data platform, and a range of smart applications, including some for the public health services, Lei said.
As an important part of the smart city development in Macau, the tasks for the development of the smart health services include the formulation of standards and the development of applications with the help of Alibaba personnel, Lei said.
The smart health services project’s first phase commenced early this year and ended last month, Lei pointed out. The bureau launched a number of programmes this year, including its digital health voucher programme and the improved mobile applications run by the bureau.
Under the smart health services project jointly carried out by the local government and Alibaba, a big data platform for Macau’s health services has been established, and the criteria and standards for Macau’s health services data have been formulated, by using Alibaba’s big data processing capabilities and cloud computing technology, according to Lei. Health Bureau data have been transferred to the cloud storage, with the aim of supporting the big data analysis for the health services, Lei said.
The local government signed the framework agreement with the mainland-based e-commerce giant on August 4 last year to develop Macau into a smart city, by using Alibaba’s big data processing capabilities to enhance the quality of the city’s public services. Jack Ma Yun, Alibaba’s high-profile co-founder, attended the signing ceremony.
According to the local government, the Alibaba cooperation project consists of two phases. The first phase, which will run until June next year, will comprise the construction of a cloud computing data centre in Macau, as well as the data mapping stage of information managed by various government entities.
During the first phase, the relevant parties will gradually launch projects using a range of big data services in order to accelerate Macau’s development in a number of areas, including tourism, training of IT professionals, transport management, medical services, and urban management, according to the government.
The government at that time said it expected the first batch of projects to produce preliminary results by the end of this year.
According to the government, the second phase of the framework agreement covers the period from July 2019 to June 2021. The relevant parties will start projects related to environmental protection, customs clearance procedures, and forecasting models for Macau’s economy.
During yesterday’s press conference, Leong Kei Hong, who heads the bureau’s Organisation and Information Department, said that the smart health services project in the first phase is primarily focused on the development of infrastructural systems under the smart health services concept and the big data analysis for the health services, adding that the tasks in the first phase would pave the way for the development of more application projects, including the extension of residents’ medical records stored in the public health service system to other medical institutions in the city.
According to Leong, the government launched the connection of medical records between the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre and the private Kiang Wu Hospital last year. Leong said that since then 20,000 residents have registered to use this medical record connection service.
Leong also said that his bureau would launch a mobile application allowing residents to check their medical records stored by the bureau on the app – comprising the public hospital and the city’s government-run health centres.
According to Leong, the government will soon launch a system of unique accounts for residents – referring to a single account for a person combining various public services by various government entities. Leong said that after the launching of such a system, the bureau could launch the new medical record mobile application, adding that the bureau expected the new mobile application to be launched in the first quarter of next year.
