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Private hospitals like Matilda International Hospital living in remote areas with internal diseases.
and Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital also provide on-
line consultation, charging one-time video consultation Mediating Doctors and Patients
for family medicine for HK$320 to HK$560. David Wong, the chief operating officer of DoctorNow,
sees the potential of telemedicine in Hong Kong. He is op-
timistic about the future of telemedicine because of its con-
venience and technological advancement.
DoctorNow is a video consultation application
launched in January 2020, helping patients with mild ill-
nesses such as cold, skin problems, and minor emotional
distress. It also arranges follow-up consultations for pa-
tients with chronic illness.
Lau Sin-yu It now has around 4,000 users, which about 60% are lo-
Doctors Adapting the New Mode cals and the rest are expatriates. It has handled about 2,000
Lau Sin-yu, a registered Chinese medicine practitioner cases, mostly aged from 30 to 50.
from Yu Yat Tong Chinese Medicine Clinic, has started “Customers started using our app because of COV-
practising telemedicine since mid-February 2020.
“The service was launched during the COVID-19 surge. Steps for using DoctorNow App
The infection risk is higher for the infirm like elderly and 1 Download DoctorNow App
patients with chronic illness. But medical supplies were
not enough,” she says. “Telemedicine was helpful in pro- 2 Member Registration
viding remote treatment and follow-up during that time.”
Lau explained that before treatment, patients are asked Appoint a doctor freely and choose a consul-
to note down their symptoms on a form. Doctors will re- 3 tation time
ceive it and look through the related documents attached,
such as pictures of patient’s tongue or skin problems. De- Fill in personal information and basic symp-
tails of patients’ situation will be asked over phone call. 4 toms
Medicine will then be delivered to their home.
“By referring to the forms submitted beforehand, we Doctors and nurses will analyse whether the
can learn about patients’ symptoms and related informa- 5 case is suitable for video consultation based
tion to get ready, which is more efficient,” she says. on the basic information
“For common internal diseases like menstrual disorder • If not, nurses will call the patients to
and skin problems, sufficient information can be collected get more information
from observation and interrogation for treatment,” Lau • If it is still not suitable, they will be
adds. suggested to have physical consultation
But she points out that telemedicine is not suitable for

6 If suitable, patients can start a video consul-
tation by appointment
Telemedicine was helpful in After consultation, medicine can be
providing remote treatment 7 (i) delivered to their home

and follow-up during that (ii) picked up at clinic without paying ad-
ditional shipping fee
time. (iii) bought from pharmacy themselves
with E-prescription

urgent cases and trauma like sprain, as palpation cannot *Sick leave certificates, referral letters and
be carried out. official receipts will be given if necessary.
Through telemedicine, she says doctors can overcome
geographical limitations to treat the disabled and patients Source: David Wong, DoctorNow’s website