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Presidents Message in the 1999 Annual Report
The 14 specialties, which equated with 12 foundation Colleges and 2 Faculties, have grown to 46, under15 Colleges. 2381 specialists have registered with the Medical Council, of whom all but 4 are Academy Fellows.
Through a postal ballot held in September-November 1997, Bylaw 16 was rescinded and Bylaw 2.4 was amended to require all new Fellows to pass the relevant College exit examination (or formal assessment). By this time all Colleges had implemented their own structured training programs and examination systems.
Compulsory Continuing, Medical Education (CME) under the Medical Registration Ordinance (MRO) was started in 1996. The Education Committee's 2-year report shows a compliance rate of 70.4% to 100% for different Colleges, or an average of 85.2%. The 3-year results will soon be compiled and procedures will come into effect to help those who may not have met the requirement of 90 CME points. We are also bound by law to notify the Medical Council of Fellows who fail to comply.
Last year we moved from a 968.4 M2 temporary office at the Pamela Youde Nethersole
Eastern Hospital to our 15,000 permanent home in Wong Chuk Hang. We were overwhelmed by overseas and mainland medical leaders who attended our first International Congress held in conjunction with the opening of the building. The 944 participants save constructive feedback and we have since improved the AV facilities and will provide valet parking for large-scale meetings.
Utilization of the Academy building has picked up. The Medical and Dental Councils moved
in this summer, although the medical and dental associations have decided not to do so. (Any media report of intended litigation for compensation is mythical.) An in-house caterer was finally contracted last month to replace ad hoc catering. The conference department, staffed with an experienced manager and two highly professional deputy managers, has boosted sales. Apart from regular meetings, 7 international and 24 local events have been booked for the next 15 months.
Last year a meeting here of College and Academy heads from 11 countries approved our proposal to establish an international information network for continuing education. The network is a major undertaking, which has been endorsed by both the Secretary for Health and Welfare and the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting. An Information Technology (IT) Committee has been formed to oversee its implementation and the further development of IT for the Academy.
A Fellow's forum conducted in June provided valuable input to Council for the Academy's response to the Harvard Consultancy Report. A full submission is appended for Fellow's reference. Suffice to say that we agreed in general with reported strengths and weaknesses but strongly negated the hypothesis that variable quality is attributed to a closed, colonial, esoteric medical profession. Irrespective of Harvard, the Academy is duty bound to adopt strategies of continuous quality improvement in medical practice. Accordingly, Council has proposed to introduce Continuing Professional Development (CPD) through voluntary quality assurance activities that will be accreditable starting from the next CME cycle. Eventually, in concert with the Medical Council, CPD will replace CME as a requirement for specialist registration.
Addressing compartmentalization, we proposed effective management of patient information across service sectors, and establishing regional health committees to promote cooperation and continuity in patient care. The Academy will also contribute to setting, up a local body to certify quality in the provision of private hospital services.
Turning to options in health financing, we emphasized the principle of building on existing strengths, rather than experimenting with radical alterations that may lead to failure. Thus the present dual system of private and public hospital services should be preserved. Public funding should continue through a global annual budget. We challenged the cost effectiveness and long-term viability of options D and E, i.e. the Health Security Plan and
Competitive Integrated Health Care. Compulsory medical savings, which encourages economy in usage, is much preferred. Medisage savings for long, term care in old age is
acceptable, but we questioned the sufficiency of contributions.
Overall, the Consultancy has generated unprecedented public awareness of the need for change. If nothing else is achieved, the debate has shifted from whether refinancing is necessary to which methods of finance are preferable on social and economic considerations. Government cannot afford to miss this opportunity for implementing bold new policies that will ensure equity, affordability and reasonable quality well into the next century.
Finally, I would like to thank the Council, Committees, individuals too numerous to name
here, and staff for their unswerving support in guiding the Academy through another year
of rapid maturation.
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