Macau Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long has recently pointed out that community healthcare services in Macau account for more than 60 percent of the total healthcare services.
Dr Lo made the remarks during the bureau’s recent Community Medical Summit at the Areia Preta Health Centre about enhancing residents’ overall health and achieving the vision of a healthier Macau, according to an SSM statement yesterday.
The summit was attended by 240 healthcare professionals, including key figures from various local healthcare organisations as well as those from Hong Kong and the mainland.
Dr Lo pointed out that the bureau is continuously strengthening its work in three areas to further promote the development of a healthy Macau, including optimising the mechanisms of “healthcare-prevention integration”, and strengthening collaboration between community healthcare, public healthcare and hospital healthcare, as well as establishing an “indicator system for the quality of chronic disease management” in order to raise the control rate of chronic disease treatment, the statement said.
Dr Lo also noted that the bureau will strengthen its team building and human resources training system for family doctors to integrate mental health services into the community healthcare system, according to the statement.
With nearly 40 years of community medical development, Macau currently operates nine community health centres and two health stations, providing free medical services to residents, the statement noted.
In addition, the bureau’s healthcare station in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin is scheduled to open later this year, which will further facilitate the integration of Macau’s healthcare system into the overall development of the country, and allow residents to enjoy a life similar to that of Macau in Hengqin, the statement underlined.
During the summit, experts delivered presentations on topics such as chronic disease management and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in community healthcare, such as the possible impact and challenges of AI technology on the healthcare system, and how the development of AI technology will be an opportunity for family medicine.
The summit also included discussions on how to effectively implement the objectives outlined in the “Healthy Macau Blueprint”, as well as the achievements of Macau’s community healthcare in the high-quality management of diabetes mellitus, and how this successful experience will be extended to the management of common chronic diseases such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and dyslipidaemia (an imbalance of lipids, especially cholesterol, in the blood; lipids are organic compounds characterised by being insoluble in water, and account for most of the fat present in the human body. Source: Wiktionary).
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Health Bureau (SSM) shows SSM Director Alvis Lo Iek Long addressing the bureau’s recent Community Medical Summit at the Areia Preta Health Centre.
