Latest news with #HA
RTHK
2 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
HA to slash costs by $1bn in efficiency drive
HA to slash costs by $1bn in efficiency drive HA Chief Executive Tony Ko (centre) says measures have been taken in various departments to compress costs and reduce staff workload. Photo: RTHK The Hospital Authority (HA) said a series of measures it has undertaken to streamline workflow and its procurement system could translate into savings of HK$1 billion, while patients would benefit through cheaper and a wider choice of medications. In a press briefing, the authority's chief pharmacist William Chui said a cost assessment panel set up to negotiate with pharmaceutical firms has paid dividends. 'We would negotiate the price based on scientific research and advice by medical economists,' he said, adding they would take reference from prices on the mainland. As a result, Chui revealed that seven out of 10 suppliers have agreed to lower drug prices, with an average reduction of 20 percent. HA Chief Executive Tony Ko, meanwhile, gave updates on the use of artificial intelligence tools to enhance efficiency and ease the workload of frontline staff. He pointed to a Smart Antibiotic Stewardship Programme which can automatically identify potentially inappropriate use of antibiotics through protocol-driven algorithm. Officially rolled out in January 2024, Ko said the tool saved time and effort as medics no longer had to comb through different databases to obtain patients' records. 'In the past, before we have this AI initiative, we need the expert colleagues, for example, our infectious disease expert or microbiology expert, to look into the various laboratory results to check the patient's conditions…before you decide whether you need to change antibiotics,' Ko said. 'We developed our own clinical management system for almost 30 years, and all the data are within our systems. Instead of asking people to do it manually, to check whether a certain patient still needed a certain broad-spectrum antibiotic, now it's all in the system and automated.' The HA has also been using automated tools to tackle the large number of medical and discharge reports, with around 100,000 such requests received annually. Ko said 80 percent of these reports can be generated by AI, reducing the time staff typically spent on this task by 40 percent, and their workload by one-third. Every report will be manually verified to ensure accuracy, he added, while complex cases still have to be handled entirely by physicians.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Bride-to-Be Wanted to Look Thin at Her Wedding, but Excessive Dieting and Exercise Left Her Infertile
NEED TO KNOW Cynthia Donovan wanted to be thin for her wedding and became increasingly focused on diet and exercise as the big day approached After missing her period for years, doctors diagnosed her with hypothalamic amenorrhea at age 29 She wanted to have children, so she started eating more and exercising less, and eventually gave birth to two boysCynthia Donovan was a regular at the gym for years before her engagement. She prioritized health and fitness and had a nutrition plan to match. But after she got engaged in 2010 and the wedding date grew closer, she became increasingly focused on diet and exercise. "I started exercising more, I started eating less and cutting calories so I could look my best and have the body that I always wanted," Donovan tells PEOPLE. "And I think the wedding was a big, big motivator for me to become more disciplined." She ultimately saw results, but they came at a cost. "I was only focused on making sure I didn't eat this or ate that, and nothing got in the way of my exercise plans," Donovan says. "I look back, and I was just miserable. I wasn't even focused on the meaning of the wedding." She was also not having her period anymore. At the time, she thought it was because she had been on birth control pills for several years. She stopped — but her period did not reappear. Shortly after returning from her honeymoon, Donovan said she began a "scavenger hunt," visiting different doctors and undergoing testing to determine why her period was missing. Because she'd been taking birth control for so long (she'd gone back on it during wedding season, then stopped after she got married), she wasn't sure exactly when it disappeared. "They didn't think it was a big deal, because I wasn't trying to have babies at that particular time," she says. She was initially misdiagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and still had no period. Donovan became worried about her ability to have children someday. So she went to see a fertility specialist. "I wasn't ready for babies, but it made me ready, because I thought, what if I couldn't have them?" Donovan says. But none of the treatment options felt right, and she returned to her OBGYN, who referred her to a reproductive endocrinologist. The doctor recommended she eat more while cutting back on exercise. He eventually diagnosed Donovan with hypothalamic amenorrhea, which is when the hypothalamus — the control center of the brain — causes menstruation to stop, according to the Cleveland Clinic. "I did not like this answer, because I love to exercise, I love to eat healthy, I was a dietitian," Donovan recalls. "That's who I was, that's what I do, and you're telling me I can't do it anymore?" Donovan was 29 years old when she received the diagnosis, but she didn't immediately come to terms with it. "Finally, someone gave me an answer, but I didn't trust it at the time," she says, adding that she didn't believe she fit the typical description of a woman with HA because she didn't have an eating disorder or a low BMI. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It doesn't fit into this little pretty box of you have to be underweight or be anorexic or an athlete," she says. "You can just be your average gym-goer, average CrossFit athlete that works out daily." "I was caught between two worlds of like, 'God, maybe I do have to change my lifestyle.' But at the same time, the rest of the world is eating less and moving more, and there's women out there that can have babies and weigh less than me," she recalls. Finally, she convinced herself to follow the doctor's dietary recommendations. "I did start to nourish my body more, eat more, even though it felt wrong for me, because I spent so much of my life trying to be healthy, and I thought by eating more, that just automatically makes you unhealthy, which is far from the truth," Donovan says. Still, she worried her efforts might not be successful. Determined to become a mom, she also started fertility treatments, including Interuterine Insemination, which was "mentally and physically exhausting." Finally, the treatments worked, and Donovan had a "beautiful, healthy pregnancy," delivering her son Brian in August 2016. "I just never thought I would experience this feeling of holding a baby in my arms. Because I would dream about this," Donovan says. "I wanted to hold this baby, I wanted to be able to breastfeed. And so I think once I started not only nourishing my body, resting it more, I think that really helped move that needle for me." Her period returned when she was 12 months postpartum, while she was breastfeeding. A few months later, Donovan conceived again, this time naturally. "I think I took like 20 pregnancy tests," she says with a laugh. Her second son, Brayden, was born in September 2018 and the boys have become "best friends." Now, the registered dietitian hosts "The Period Recovery Podcast" and hopes others will treat their periods like a vital sign. Her advice for women facing similar health challenges is to "advocate for themselves, and if they're not getting the answers that they need, to continue to seek clarity for themselves." Read the original article on People
Travel Weekly
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Sponsored Video: Meet the Culinary Master Behind Hotel Xcaret Mexico's Michelin-Starred Cuisine
Sponsored Video: Meet the Culinary Master Behind Hotel Xcaret Mexico's Michelin-Starred Cuisine | Meet the two-time Michelin-starred chef who created HA' at the Hotel Xcaret Mexico. That's right, in addition to incredible parks, tours and of course hotels, Grupo Xcaret is home to the incredible restaurant, HA', which just this June earned its Michelin star for the second consecutive year. Chef Carlos Gaytán joins Northstar Travel Group's EVP of Marketing & Partnerships Mary Pat Sullivan to talk about his culinary inspirations, his passion for Mexican cuisine, his love of Mexico's culture and experiences and his pride in creating culinary memories for the guests who dine at HA'.
RTHK
19-05-2025
- Health
- RTHK
'Non-local doctors cut gastroscopy waiting times'
'Non-local doctors cut gastroscopy waiting times' The Hospital Authority says waiting times for a gastroscopy have been cut at the Central Government Aided Emergency Hospital. Photo: RTHK The Hospital Authority on Monday said waiting times for a non-urgent gastroscopy have been reduced at the Central Government Aided Emergency Hospital in Lok Ma Chau thanks to the hiring of non-locally trained doctors. The hospital has cut the average wait from over a year to just two to three months, the authority said. "We're talking about non-urgent cases, such as those with unclear symptoms that don't seem very alarming. These patients have been waiting a long time, often over a year," said Dr Sin Ngai-chuen, clinical stream coordinator of the authority's New Territories East cluster. "Those who voluntarily come here have seen their waiting time significantly reduced, from a year to just two or three months." Sin said that as of late last month, nearly 5,500 patients had received endoscopy procedures at the hospital. He expressed optimism that recruiting more international specialists would further alleviate staff shortages in Hong Kong's public healthcare system. Dr Liang Chongfen from the mainland said he had been worried about having to use English in clinical settings, but his concerns were unfounded. "Since I was in the mainland, I only used English during my studies. After graduation, I would only use English when reading articles, but didn't really use it at work. So when I came here, my biggest concern was whether my English would be up to standard. However, it turned out fine," he said. "I can actually speak Cantonese as well since I am from Foshan. Most Hong Kong residents speak Cantonese, so communication isn't a problem." According to recent HA data, 301 non-locally trained doctors are working for the authority: 234 full-time roles and 67 exchange placements. Among full-time hires, 55 percent obtained their qualifications in the UK, while 14 percent are from the mainland. Exchange doctors include 50 from the Greater Bay Area and Shanghai, alongside 17 from countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines and the UK.
RTHK
04-05-2025
- Health
- RTHK
HA expands Chinese-Western medicine services
HA expands Chinese-Western medicine services The number of designated disease areas within the programme has grown to six. Photo courtesy of Hospital Authority The Hospital Authority said over the first quarter of this year, its Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine (ICWM) services expanded from eight designated public hospitals to 26, totalling 65 service points. Rowena Wong, Chief Manager of the Chinese Medicine Department of Hospital Authority, said in light of Hong Kong's ageing population, authorities hoped to improve patient care by combining different types of treatments. "We have over 100 Chinese medicine practitioners joining our programme. All of them are trained. We are providing more training for them, including [those] that we send to the Guangdong province to join an enhanced inpatient training programme," she said. "We see that so far we are grooming the Chinese medicine practitioners into integrated programme areas, and so far, we have very good feedback." Additionally, the number of designated disease areas within the programme has grown to six, including a pilot programme for respiratory treatment. The pilot began at the Haven of Hope Hospital in April last year and has served approximately 120 patients as of March this year. The programme has since expanded to Kowloon Hospital, Ruttonjee Hospital and Grantham Hospital. Wong said the ICWM programme in general is a crucial initiative for advancing Chinese medicine. She added that the Health Bureau would unveil a development blueprint for Chinese medicine later this year, which was expected to provide clearer direction and strategies for enhancing the integration of Chinese and Western medicine.
