Author Background:
The author is the founder of Vascue, a HealthTech startup, and strongly believes that technology can improve the quality of human life. Initially trained as a radiographer providing medical imaging services, he became interested in the intersection of technology and healthcare after reading an article about tumour recognition on X-rays with AI. This led him to learn coding and kick-start his career in software development.
The inception of Vascue can be traced back to February 2020, coinciding with the start of the coronavirus outbreak. While working part-time at a medical imaging clinic, I dedicated some of my time to sharpening my skills in software development. Hearing about the shortage of manpower in public hospitals, I decided to apply for a short-term role to help alleviate the situation. Despite the heavy workload, which was approximately 3 to 4 times that of private hospitals, it was an immense honour to join forces with my colleagues in the fight against the virus. The closure of non-emergency and non-essential services resulted in increased waiting times and delayed medical appointments. Although most medical services have now returned to normal, the accumulated workload and loss of medical practitioners have exacerbated the workload disparity between public and private medical care.
According to a health manpower statistics report conducted by the Department of Health in 2018, both the public and private medical markets in Hong Kong have similar numbers of medical staff. However, public institutions provide 80% of the medical services to Hong Kong citizens. The primary reason for this is the relatively affordable and high-quality subsidised public medical care. We do not intend to criticise the pricing of private medical services, as medical institutions are also responsible for their own profits and losses in a competitive market. Encouraging citizens to choose private medical services could potentially alleviate this predicament. The government has implemented Public-Private Partnership programs, such as medical voucher systems, outpatient collaboration, and diagnostic radiography collaboration programs, to incentivise citizens to switch to private medical services. However, these programs heavily rely on government funding and may not be sustainable in the long run. This prompted my partner and me to start working on a solution to address this issue.
Vascue aims to enhance the attractiveness of private clinics by developing a cloud platform that focuses on convenience, efficiency, and affordability. We are proud to partner with eHealth, enabling our platform to seamlessly connect with the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS). This collaboration allows doctors to access patients’ medical records in public medical institutions with their consent, providing valuable information for accurate diagnosis and better treatment outcomes. Automation is a key feature of our platform, which assists healthcare practitioners in managing repetitive tasks such as appointments and patient registration. This not only reduces operating costs but also empowers medical staff to concentrate on patient care. The platform also facilitates patients in making medical appointments and managing health records easily, creating a brand-new diagnostic experience for them. By diverting patients from public medical institutions to the private market, our solution aims to relieve the burden on Hong Kong’s medical system.
As the life expectancy of the population continues to rise, public-private partnership becomes paramount in addressing the challenges posed by an aging population.
If you want to join our mission, please drop your contact information on our website at https://vascue.io or contact us at hello@vascue.io. We are eager to connect with individuals who share our passion and drive to make a difference.
