The Hospital Authority has launched the Shared-Care Programme which pilots a new model of public-private partnership allowing diabetes and hypertension patients to choose seeing private doctors or to stay in the authority's care.

In the pilot stage, each participating patient will get a maximum subsidy of $1,400 from the Government for a year for receiving continuous chronic disease management by a participating private doctor of their choice. The subsidy covers $1,200 for consultation, case management and drugs.

The Government will also provide an incentive of up to $200 a year for patients who can meet the preset health outcome indicators and comply with the care requirements prescribed by private doctors. The incentive will be deposited to each patient's electronic voucher account and can be used at future consultations.

The authority will continue to provide laboratory tests, investigations and annual complication screening while the results will be forwarded to private doctors for continuous care. A quality incentive of $200 will be given to participating doctors if they provide treatment to patients to meet specified process indicators, such as regular monitoring of blood pressure and body weight

Participating doctors must publicise the fees to be charged for each 12-month period according to specified management model and clinical protocols for patients' reference, and the Government will subsidise $1,200 for consultation, case management and drugs. The fees charged by them will be applicable to all patients under their care.

They can access the authority's electronic medical records of participating patients through the Public-Private Interface-Electronic Patient Record Sharing Pilot Project.

Patients aged 70 or above and who have participated in the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme can use the subsidy for the programme and the vouchers at the same time.

The programme will be piloted in the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin and Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po this month. Support offices with hotlines will be established to provide support to the participating patients and doctors. Invitation letters will be sent to eligible patients in batches and briefing sessions will be arranged from April.

An independent assessment body will be engaged to continuously evaluate the programme arrangements and effectiveness. The Government will consider whether it should be improved and extended to other districts having regard to the evaluation results and experience.