The Government announced today (March 19) that the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be gazetted on Friday (March 21). The Bill aims to refine the existing legal framework of the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth) to tie in with and support its function enhancements and continuous development.

     The Bill seeks to amend the Electronic Health Record Sharing System Ordinance (Cap. 625) to expand and enhance the data collection, sharing, usage and protection mechanism of eHealth, in tandem with the "eHealth+" five-year development plan. "eHealth+" serves to transform eHealth into a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure to complement the healthcare reform, including promoting primary healthcare, improving workflow efficiency and facilitating cross-boundary services, thereby providing citizens with more coherent and high-quality healthcare services.

Building a comprehensive personal electronic health record (eHR) for citizens

     The Bill will provide a legal framework for building a comprehensive personal eHR for citizens, including streamlining the consent mechanism. Once citizens agree to join eHealth, their healthcare providers (HCPs) will be able to deposit health data into their personal eHealth accounts. Meanwhile, citizens will continue to retain full control over their personal data and can grant individual HCPs access to their eHealth records at their own will. 

     At present, most private HCPs have registered with eHealth and frequently access the records with individual citizens' consent, but only a few would deposit records of the services provided into citizens' eHealth accounts. The Bill will empower the Secretary for Health to require specified HCPs to deposit important specified health data into the personal eHealth accounts of citizens registered with eHealth. Such arrangement can assist citizens in obtaining their records from HCPs and enhance service efficiency. 

Supporting primary healthcare development and service process management

     To support the development of primary healthcare services provided by multi-disciplinary teams, the Bill will expand the scope of healthcare professionals (HCProfs) who can access health data on eHealth. In addition to the existing 13 types of HCProfs subject to statutory registration, HCProfs registered with the accredited professional bodies under the Department of Health's Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions, and other specified HCProfs that provide healthcare in healthcare facilities controlled or managed by the Government and the Hospital Authority (such as the District Health Centres under the Primary Healthcare Commission) will also be included. With citizens' consents, these HCProfs may access their health data on eHealth when providing healthcare for them. 

     Electronic medical documents, including medical certificates, prescriptions, and healthcare referrals, can reduce the risk of losing paper documents and facilitate convenient access and use of the documents by citizens. The Bill will provide a clear legal framework for governing electronic medical documents issued or authenticated through eHealth, and enabling the Government to designate eHealth as the only platform for issuing certain medical documents under appropriate circumstances, in order to facilitate the centralised management and support the usage of these documents. 

Supporting citizens in using healthcare services across the boundary

     The use of cross-boundary healthcare services has become increasingly common among citizens. At present, citizens can self-carry their own eHRs for cross-boundary uses via the eHealth mobile application. To better support citizens' needs, the Bill will introduce provisions to provide for the recognition of individual HCPs and public health record systems outside Hong Kong (e.g. service providers under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme), subject to sufficient protection of data privacy and system security as well as due compliance with specified requirements and conditions. This will enable citizens to use their eHRs across the boundary in a more convenient and secure manner. 

     If an individual citizen uses services at a recognised HCP outside Hong Kong, he/she can choose to authorise the HCP to securely access his/her eHealth records and deposit the health records of the services received into his/her personal eHealth account, with a view to enhancing the quality and safety of cross-boundary healthcare services. HCPs outside Hong Kong can only access and deposit citizens' eHealth records when a registered citizen provides explicit consent when using its services. Under no other circumstances will eHealth records be transmitted across the boundary.

Refining the legal provisions for the access and use of eHealth data

     The Bill will also refine the legal provisions governing the access and use of eHealth data. Among other things, the Bill will empower the Government and other authorised persons to use identifiable data in eHealth for the purposes of enrolling citizens in, administering, and evaluating government healthcare programmes. The Bill will also specify that citizens and specified categories of related persons, such as parents of minors and authorised caregivers, may provide to and obtain eHealth records of the citizen, thereby empowering citizens' self-management of health records.

     The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for First Reading on March 26.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (March 19) announced the results of a risk assessment study on T-2 toxins, HT-2 toxins and 4,15-diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) in food. The study results showed that it is unlikely for adults and younger populations in Hong Kong to experience adverse health effects due to dietary exposure to these mycotoxins.

     A spokesman for the CFS said, "T-2, HT-2 and DAS are produced by the Fusarium species which grow and invade crops under cool, moist conditions. Therefore, these mycotoxins are commonly found in cereals and their derived products. In recent years, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives established the tolerable daily intake of 25 nanograms/kilograms body weight for T-2, HT-2 and DAS, alone or in combination."

     The CFS collected a total of 327 samples (including cereal grains, breakfast cereal, bakery and pastry items and vegetable oils etc) between October and December 2023 from local retailers. After analyses, the sum of T-2, HT-2 and DAS ranged from not detected to 23.718 micrograms/kg. The study results showed that the dietary exposures to T-2, HT-2 and DAS for the average and high consumers of the local adult and younger population were well below the health-based guidance value and thus unlikely to pose health risks.

     The CFS recommends that members of the public should follow basic dietary advice on healthy eating and maintain a balanced and varied diet to minimise the risk of exposure to contaminants from a limited range of food items. The public should also purchase cereals and cereal-based products from reliable sources and store them properly in a cool, dry place to prevent fungal growth. The trade is also advised to store food commodities properly to prevent mould growth. 

     â€‹Details and results of the study are available on the CFS website.

     Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley today (March 19). The arrangements will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

A. Traffic arrangements before the commencement of the first race

     The following road closure and traffic diversions will be implemented from 50 minutes before the start of the first race for day racing, or from 6pm onwards for night racing:

1. Road closure

     Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp outside the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will be closed, except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel.

2. Traffic diversions

– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the up-ramp outside the HKJC will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Traffic along eastbound Queen’s Road East heading for Wan Chai and Happy Valley will be diverted to turn left to Morrison Hill Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along Queen’s Road East cannot turn right to Wong Nai Chung Road, except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Queen’s Road East will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Morrison Hill Road to turn right at the junction of Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen’s Road East; and
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley or Racecourse will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, southbound Morrison Hill Road, Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road.

B. Traffic arrangements before the conclusion of race meeting

     The following road closure and traffic diversions will be implemented from about 35 minutes before the start of the last race:

1. Road closure

– The up-ramp on Wong Nai Chung Road outside the HKJC leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the Public Stands of the HKJC;
– Westbound Leighton Road between Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road East; and
– Southbound Morrison Hill Road between Leighton Road and Queen’s Road East.

     In addition, southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel and the Public Stands of the HKJC will be closed from about 10 minutes before the start of the last race.

2. Traffic diversions

– Eastbound Queen’s Road East at its junction with Morrison Hill Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic heading for northbound Canal Road flyover;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Wan Chai will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, U-turn slip road beneath Canal Road flyover, Canal Road West and Hennessy Road;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted to turn left to eastbound Leighton Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road; and
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road will be diverted to Wong Nai Chung Road.

C. Learner drivers prohibition

     Learner drivers will be prohibited to turn left from Caroline Hill Road to Leighton Road between one and a half hours before the start of the first race and one hour after the last race. In addition, learner drivers will be prohibited from accessing the following roads within the above period of time:

– Shan Kwong Road between Yik Yam Street and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Village Road between its upper and lower junctions with Shan Kwong Road;
– Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
– Canal Road East; and
– The service road leading from Gloucester Road to Canal Road flyover.

D. Suspension of parking spaces

     Parking spaces on southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Sports Road and Blue Pool Road will be suspended from 11am to 7pm for day racing, and from 5pm to 11.59pm for night racing respectively.

     All vehicles parked illegally during the implementation of the above special traffic arrangements will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.

     Actual implementation of road closure and traffic diversion will be made by the Police at the time depending on traffic conditions in the areas. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of Police on site.

     â€‹The Labour Department (LD) is holding an online exhibition from 9am today (March 19) to 6pm on March 21 on the LD's website disseminating information about the Employment Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance to enhance the public's understanding of employment rights and benefits.
 
     Consolidating the content of physical exhibitions held by the LD, the online exhibition features the main provisions of the Employment Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance, employment rights and benefits for foreign domestic helpers, as well as good human resource management measures. The relevant hyperlink is www.labour.gov.hk/common/Online_exhibition_EO_MWO/index_en.html.

​     To echo the 10th National Security Education Day, the Security Bureau's eight disciplined services and auxiliary services will hold open days in their training schools, museum, headquarters or divisional premises on different weekends and holidays in April to deepen the public's understanding of the services as well as their work and achievements in safeguarding national security through their open days and activities. Starting from today (March 19), members of the public can register for free admission tickets via the relevant disciplined services' websites or mobile applications. Admission ticket is not required for the open days of the auxiliary services.

     The Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development, the Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum and Community Education Experience Centre, and the Civil Aid Service Headquarters will be opened to the public on April 12; the Hong Kong Police Museum, the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy, and the Kai Tak Division of the Government Flying Service will be opened on April 13; the Hong Kong Customs College, April 18; while the Auxiliary Medical Service Headquarters, April 27.

     Various activities will be organised by the services on the open days, including flag raising ceremonies, Chinese-style foot drills, rescue demonstrations, displays of firearms and equipment, working dogs' demonstrations and game booths. These activities will help members of the public to learn more about the services' work in preventing and defending against national security risks and raise public awareness of national security, create a favourable atmosphere for safeguarding national security and cultivate law-abiding awareness.

     Members of the public are welcome to visit the websites or mobile applications of the relevant services for more information on the open days, and register to obtain tickets. Successful applicants will receive notifications from the organisers.

     Open day venues on April 12 (Saturday):

     Open day venues on April 13 (Sunday):

 
     Open day venues on April 18 (Friday) and April 27 (Sunday):