The development of telemedicine in Hong Kong

Abstract

The merging of computers and technologies is facilitating the trend toward remote work arrangements. Telemedicine is a kind of remote work arrangement that is specifically adapted for the health care industries. Telemedicine is seen to be an important potential solution in improving the effectiveness of public services in a community with a limited number of medical experts and other related resources. This article first discusses the needs of telemedicine in Hong Kong and then investigates the current development of telemedicine in Hong Kong and its ability to support collaborative work through image‐transfer and video‐conferencing between professionals across different health care organizations. A model for the development of telemedicine is proposed that includes networked hospitals, remote medical experts, and remote patients. How the proposed model can be implemented, based on existing development, and the benefits it brings are discussed.