<p>香港公共医院将在下周四医疗改革生效时部署超过 1,000 名服务大使，以协助居民，相关部门表示，适应费用变化的系统改造已进入最后阶段。\n 集群服务总监黄耀忠在周六表示，公共医院系统，包括收费和配药，已更新以反映旨在解决医疗行业结构性挑战的调整费用。\n 根据定于 1 月 1 日生效的改革，政府计划将公共医疗补贴率从 97.6%（全球最高之一）降低至 2030 年的 90%。\n“我们已完成最后阶段的测试，” 黄在一档广播节目中表示。\n“所有系统都相当稳定，我对变更的实施充满信心。”\n 他说，已付出巨大努力向医疗人员和居民宣传和解释改革的不同阶段和范围。\n 黄表示，患者最大的担忧之一是新的医疗费用减免计划，该计划通过放宽收入和资产限制，将有资格获得补贴或免费医疗的人数从 30 万人扩大到 140 万人。\n 医疗费用将被限制在每年 10,000 港元（1,286 美元），不包括自费药物和治疗，政府表示，这可能使 70,000 名需要频繁住院的重症患者受益。\n 目前的收入门槛设定为中位数家庭月收入的 75%。但对于两人或以上的家庭，将提高至中位数，对于单人家庭，将提高至 150%。\n 除了已经在医院管理局网络中帮助实施该计划的 100 名专业人员外，黄表示，在初始阶段还将有超过 1,000 名服务大使在公共医院和诊所协助患者申请减免。\n11 月，卫生当局开始接受新的减免计划申请，并宣布从明年 1 月至 3 月的特殊过渡安排。\n 医院管理局的首席健康经理潘怡虹表示，居民在后续咨询期间将有充足的时间提交所需文件。\n“如果患者觉得无法承担新的费用，我们将有一个有条件的减免安排，他们需要签署一份声明，说明他们有紧急的经济状况，并在三个月内提交文件，” 她说。\n“但他们必须配合并及时提交文件，否则我们将寄送账单。我们将评估他们是否符合部分或全额减免的资格。”\n 潘重申，公共医疗费用的改革是简化服务和减少浪费的更广泛努力的一部分，通过共同支付模式实现。\n 从 1 月 1 日起，只有被分类为危急或紧急病例的患者才能在急诊科接受免费治疗。\n 那些被评估为紧急、半紧急或非紧急的患者将被收取 400 港元的费用，高于目前的 180 港元。\n 然而，患者如果在咨询前离开急诊科，仍需支付 50 港元的分诊和护理程序费用，即使他们申请退款。\n 潘表示，这并不是急诊费用首次调整，前线工作人员对这一过程非常熟悉。\n 她表示，系统有能力根据个案灵活处理患者，并将在午夜时增加额外人员以维持秩序。\n 早些时候，管理局表示将对无法按时到达或已在附近的患者的案例进行酌情处理。\n“居民不应在费用调整前的最后时刻匆忙前往急诊科，” 她说，并补充道，只有在感到不适时才应前往。\n“最重要的是避免匆忙，这将是一个令人恐惧的场景。没有必要以这种心态来面对 [费用变化]。”</p>

<p>香港公立医院将于下周四部署超过 1,000 名服务大使，协助居民应对医疗费用改革。这项改革旨在到 2030 年将公共医疗补贴率从 97.6% 降低至 90%。一项新的医疗费用减免计划将扩大享受补贴医疗的资格，惠及 140 万人。急诊部门的患者将面临新的收费，对于非危急病例的费用将增加。这些变化是通过共同支付模式来简化服务和减少浪费的努力的一部分</p>

<p>Hong Kong public hospitals will deploy more than 1,000 service ambassadors to assist residents when healthcare reforms take effect next Thursday, with authorities saying the system revamp to accommodate the fee changes is entering its final stage.\nDirector of Cluster Services Wong Yiu-chung said on Saturday that public hospital systems, including billing and dispensing, had been updated to reflect the adjusted fees aimed at addressing structural challenges in the healthcare sector.\nUnder the revamp set to take effect on January 1, the government aims to reduce its public healthcare subsidy rate from 97.6 per cent, one of the highest in the world, to 90 per cent by 2030.\n“We have completed the final stages of testing,” Wong told a radio show.\n“All systems are quite stable and I am quite confident the changes will be implemented as we expected.”\nHe said great effort had gone into publicising and explaining the different stages and scope of the reforms to both medical staff and residents.\nWong said one of the patients’ biggest concerns was the new medical fee waiver scheme, which expands eligibility for subsidised or free healthcare from 300,000 to 1.4 million people by relaxing income and asset limits.\nMedical fees would be capped at HK$10,000 (US$1,286) a year, excluding self-financed drugs and treatments, potentially benefiting 70,000 people with serious conditions requiring frequent hospital stays, the government said.\nThe income threshold is currently set at 75 per cent of the median monthly household income. But it will be raised to the median for families of two people or more, and 150 per cent of that for one-person households.\n\nIn addition to the 100 specialised staff already in the Hospital Authority network helping implement the scheme, Wong said more than 1,000 service ambassadors would be deployed at public hospitals and clinics during the initial phase to assist patients with waiver applications.\nIn November, health authorities began accepting applications for the new waiver scheme and announced special transitional arrangements from January to March next year.\nPriscilla Poon Yee-hung, the Hospital Authority’s chief manager of allied health, said residents would have ample time to submit the required documents during their follow-up consultations.\n“If patients feel that they cannot afford the new fees, we will have a conditional waiver arrangement where they sign a form declaring they have an urgent financial situation and submit the documents within three months,” she said.\n“But they must cooperate and submit the documents in time, or else we will send them the bill. We will assess to see whether they qualify for a partial or full waiver.”\nPoon reiterated that the overhaul of public healthcare fees was part of a broader effort to streamline services and reduce waste through a co-payment model.\nFrom January 1, only patients classified as critical or emergency cases will receive free treatment at accident and emergency (A&amp;E) departments.\nThose assessed as urgent, semi-urgent, or non-urgent will be charged HK$400, up from the current HK$180.\nHowever, patients who leave A&amp;E departments before a consultation will still be required to pay HK$50 for triage and nursing procedures, even if they apply for a refund of the initial fee.\nPoon said this was not the first time A&amp;E fees had been adjusted, and frontline staff were familiar with the process.\nShe said the system had the capacity to handle patients on a case-by-case basis with flexibility at midnight and additional staff would be deployed to maintain order.\nEarlier, the authority said it would handle cases with discretion for patients unable to arrive on time or already in the vicinity.\n“Residents should not rush to the A&amp;E at the eleventh hour before the fee adjustment,” she said, adding that they should go only if they were feeling unwell.\n“The most important thing is to avoid rushing, which will be a frightening sight. There is no need to approach [the fee change] with that mindset.”\n</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>香港公共医院将在下周四医疗改革生效时部署超过 1,000 名服务大使，以协助居民，相关部门表示，适应费用变化的系统改造已进入最后阶段。\n 集群服务总监黄耀忠在周六表示，公共医院系统，包括收费和配药，已更新以反映旨在解决医疗行业结构性挑战的调整费用。\n 根据定于 1 月 1 日生效的改革，政府计划将公共医疗补贴率从 97.6%（全球最高之一）降低至 2030 年的 90%。\n“我们已完成最后阶段的测试，” 黄在一档广播节目中表示。\n“所有系统都相当稳定，我对变更的实施充满信心。”\n 他说，已付出巨大努力向医疗人员和居民宣传和解释改革的不同阶段和范围。\n 黄表示，患者最大的担忧之一是新的医疗费用减免计划，该计划通过放宽收入和资产限制，将有资格获得补贴或免费医疗的人数从 30 万人扩大到 140 万人。\n 医疗费用将被限制在每年 10,000 港元（1,286 美元），不包括自费药物和治疗，政府表示，这可能使 70,000 名需要频繁住院的重症患者受益。\n 目前的收入门槛设定为中位数家庭月收入的 75%。但对于两人或以上的家庭，将提高至中位数，对于单人家庭，将提高至 150%。\n 除了已经在医院管理局网络中帮助实施该计划的 100 名专业人员外，黄表示，在初始阶段还将有超过 1,000 名服务大使在公共医院和诊所协助患者申请减免。\n11 月，卫生当局开始接受新的减免计划申请，并宣布从明年 1 月至 3 月的特殊过渡安排。\n 医院管理局的首席健康经理潘怡虹表示，居民在后续咨询期间将有充足的时间提交所需文件。\n“如果患者觉得无法承担新的费用，我们将有一个有条件的减免安排，他们需要签署一份声明，说明他们有紧急的经济状况，并在三个月内提交文件，” 她说。\n“但他们必须配合并及时提交文件，否则我们将寄送账单。我们将评估他们是否符合部分或全额减免的资格。”\n 潘重申，公共医疗费用的改革是简化服务和减少浪费的更广泛努力的一部分，通过共同支付模式实现。\n 从 1 月 1 日起，只有被分类为危急或紧急病例的患者才能在急诊科接受免费治疗。\n 那些被评估为紧急、半紧急或非紧急的患者将被收取 400 港元的费用，高于目前的 180 港元。\n 然而，患者如果在咨询前离开急诊科，仍需支付 50 港元的分诊和护理程序费用，即使他们申请退款。\n 潘表示，这并不是急诊费用首次调整，前线工作人员对这一过程非常熟悉。\n 她表示，系统有能力根据个案灵活处理患者，并将在午夜时增加额外人员以维持秩序。\n 早些时候，管理局表示将对无法按时到达或已在附近的患者的案例进行酌情处理。\n“居民不应在费用调整前的最后时刻匆忙前往急诊科，” 她说，并补充道，只有在感到不适时才应前往。\n“最重要的是避免匆忙，这将是一个令人恐惧的场景。没有必要以这种心态来面对 [费用变化]。”</p>
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香港将部署 1000 名医院工作人员以指导患者应对费用改革