日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語(yǔ)Fran?ais
HongKong Comment(1)

Prevention is better, and cheaper, than cure for diseases

By Ho Lok-sang | HK Edition | Updated: 2017-09-19 07:39
Share
Share - WeChat

Last week I had the occasion to watch a television feature story. It was about how Taiwan offers hepatitis B infection screening tests and then, for those diagnosed positive, health authorities offer follow-up tests that will continue for the rest of the lives of the infected residents. The purpose is to allow early discovery of malignant tumor development, so patients can be given life-saving intervention at the earliest time possible. Sadly for Hong Kong, our citizens do not enjoy similar services. Liver-cancer patients typically do not experience any symptoms that would prompt them to seek medical help until much too late; when symptoms occur so liver cancer is diagnosed, intervention is often too late. The luckier ones might receive a liver transplant but liver transplants are extremely costly and depend on availability of suitable livers. Even these luckier ones may not fully recover and must endure more pain and stress.

What really baffles me is that Hong Kong is economically much more advanced than Taiwan. Our GDP per capita last year stood at $43,528, whereas that of Taiwan was only $22,453, according to the International Monetary Fund. Our fiscal position is extremely strong, if not the strongest in the world, with surging fiscal reserves estimated at HK$860 billion at the end of March last year, equivalent to 24 months of government expenditures. We run budget surpluses most of the time but Taiwan has run a budget deficit almost every year in the past two decades.

Again sad to say, while Taiwan began a mass-vaccination program against hepatitis B, mainly by immunizing newborn infants from 1984, Hong Kong did not offer the vaccine to all new-borns until 1988. In 1984, the Hong Kong government did introduce a neonatal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program, but only infants considered at risk were covered.

It is certainly not through lack of knowledge that our health authorities kept lagging behind Taiwan in doing the right things, because we have top doctors and we have two medical schools that rank among the best globally. The only reason is that the authorities were trying to save money, and perhaps that is how we kept accumulating fiscal reserves. But prevention is better than cure. When prevention is not done properly we will have more infections, and we will have more infected people contracting liver cancer, and we will have more liver-cancer patients dying from the disease. Meanwhile, the medical costs of treating the infected and treating liver-cancer patients mount.

Hepatitis B virus infection detection and follow-up medical attention is only one example of Hong Kong failing to observe the dictum "prevention is better than cure". Another area in which we failed badly is providing preventive mental-health services. From time to time the community is hit by tragedies involving mental-health patients or ex-patients who need help but because of all kinds of reasons do not receive it. A South China Morning Post editorial last year cited alarming figures. The wait for mental-health treatment was as long as 166 weeks, or more than three years. Our psychiatric doctor-patient ratio is only 4.5 per 100,000 people. "The number of new psychiatric cases in specialist public outpatient clinics has grown by about 8,000 a year to 47,958 in the past five years. The Hospital Authority puts the number with severe conditions anywhere between 70,000 and 200,000, a frighteningly rubbery estimate." As a result of the failure of the preventive effort, from time to time tragedies occur.

The success of Taiwan in dealing with hepatitis B infection and liver cancer despite its relatively thin finances suggests a lack of resources is a poor excuse for Hong Kong. Somehow our bureaucrats have their hands tied by their own thinking. Committing more resources to prevention often means more savings down the road. The savings come in different forms, and are sometimes not entirely transparent. It is great that we have finally made vaccinations available for all infants. As a result of that we are having fewer infections and are saving the money that would be needed to treat infections. Fewer infections mean a healthier and more productive workforce and more profitable enterprises. Fewer infections also mean less need for the community and families to attend to patients. As stated in an article on the subject, in addition to screening and vaccination, ideal programs must offer access to ongoing care and support, including antiviral therapy and screening for liver cancer. If the government takes good preventive care of patients, it sets an example for the community. The government may well win more support from the community. More savings will come because it runs into fewer objections and has more support.

To sum up: The government needs to set its priorities right. Preventive care will save money and save lives, and contribute to a happier community.

(HK Edition 09/19/2017 page8)

Today's Top News

Editor's picks

Most Viewed

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 波多野结衣a∨免费观看 | 亚洲免费色 | 国产精品揄拍100视频最近 | 91视频麻豆视频 | 91成人 | 国产成人精品一区二区仙踪林 | 国产91在线 | 亚洲 | 国产一区久久精品 | 午夜视频免费 成人 | 国产精品小视频在线观看 | 国产99久久精品一区二区永久免费 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 亚洲 欧美 日韩中文字幕一区二区 | 日韩精品| 女人一级毛片免费视频观看 | 国产精品国产a | 538在线精品| 午夜寂寞少妇aaa片毛片 | 免费看一级视频 | 欧美日韩国产精品一区二区 | 日本中文字幕高清 | 奇米影视77 | 日韩在线不卡一区 | 日韩精品专区在线影院重磅 | 91视频导航 | 亚洲国产视频一区 | 亚洲综合激情另类小说区 | 天天艹天天干天天 | 欧美精品在线一区二区三区 | 亚洲热影院 | 国产在线播放免费 | 欧美老妇交乱视频 | 婷婷色综合 | 亚洲综合国产一区二区三区 | 日韩精品 电影一区 亚洲 | 国内精品一区二区 | 1024污视频 | 羞羞视频网站在线观看 | 日本黄色免费网址 | 成人精品视频在线观看 | 99久久免费观看 |