The Programme is a Government-funded programme with the aim to increase the cataract surgeries throughput and shorten the waiting time of cataract surgery for Hospital Authority (“HA”) patients through a public-private partnership delivery model.  It offers a fixed subsidy in the amount of HK$8,000 for each cataract surgery for a patient who chooses to receive treatment from a private ophthalmologist, subject to a co-payment of not more than HK$8,000.

Patients who join the Programme can make reference to the list of the participating private ophthalmologists sent to them and are free to choose his/her own private ophthalmologist.

A number of patients who are “Waiver Eligible Patients” may consult private ophthalmologists who are willing to offer Cataract Surgery at HK$8,000, without Co-Payment.

Any medical practitioner who is currently included in the Specialist Register in the specialty of ophthalmology, in accordance with Section 20K of the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161, the Laws of Hong Kong), may apply to participate in the Programme upon invitation by HA or on their own volition.

The private ophthalmologist who participates in this Programme should also follow the “Guideline on Infection Control Practice” and must have in place appropriate and adequate professional indemnity insurance.

The participating private ophthalmologist shall personally perform the Cataract Surgery and personally provide to the patient the other services under the package or agreed with the patient.  For details, please refer to the Terms and Conditions of the Programme.

The Programme started in February 2008.  The HA issues invitation letters to patients in batches. 

Patients who fulfill the following criteria will be eligible for invitation:-

• He/She has been on HA Clusters’ Waiting List, but those with longer waiting time will be given higher priority;
• Only require local anaesthesia for the cataract surgery; and
• He/She has been clinically triaged to routine waiting list. (Urgent and Early cases need to be handled with priority. Therefore, the HA will continue to arrange surgeries for these cases instead of offering these patients the choice to undertake treatment from private ophthalmologists.)

The amount of co-payment agreed between the patient and the private ophthalmologist cannot exceed HK$8,000. The private ophthalmologist can redeem the subsidy amount of HK$8,000 from Hospital Authority (HA).  

Patients do not need to approach HA. HA will issue invitation in batches to the patients and notify them to participate in the Programme, with priority to those patients who have waited longest on the HA central waiting list. 

HA shall compile a list of private ophthalmologists and set out on the list for the private ophthalmologists who are willing to undertake cataract surgery at the amount of subsidy (without co-payment) for “Waiver Eligible Patients” so that these patients can approach these private ophthalmologists.

The private ophthalmologist will provide treatment as a package which includes one pre-operative assessment, the cataract surgery including a basic monofocal intraocular lens and 2 post-operative checks.

The private ophthalmology can verify patient’s waiver status when doing Subsidy Logging Procedure. There is checkbox for various waiver status and the private ophthalmologist can click the appropriate box to verify.

The patient needs to agree with the private ophthalmologist on the fee for the package.  Whilst this fee can vary, the maximum fee that a private ophthalmologist may charge cannot exceed HK$16,000.  As the patient will have a HK$8,000 subsidy, the patient may accordingly need to co-pay up to HK$8,000.  The HA will disburse the HK$8,000 subsidy to the private ophthalmologist directly after the completion of cataract surgery and treatment package.

The Package includes one pre-operative assessment, the Cataract Surgery (including one appropriate basic monofocal intraocular lens and all medical consumables) and 2 post-operative checks. The package should be the same for any patients irrespective of the co-payment amount.

The Programme includes a basic monofocal intraocular lens.  For any other types of intraocular lens would be charged by the private ophthalmologist.  The additional fee shall be mutually agreed between the private ophthalmologist and the patient.

The private ophthalmologist whom a patient has selected for Cataract Surgery may notify HA for the change when doing Subsidy Logging, subject to clinical assessment on the condition of the patient’s eyes.

Patients who are eligible for a waiver under the criteria set out in the webpage of the Cataract Surgeries Programme (http://www.ha.org.hk/ppp/csp) (as amended from time to time at HA’s sole discretion) (“Waiver Eligible Patients”) can choose to approach private ophthalmologists who agreed to provide cataract surgeries to such patients without any co-payment.

The “List of Participating Ophthalmologists for Waiver Eligible Patients” is sent together with the invitation.  Patients can approach and liaise directly with these private ophthalmologists.

All private ophthalmologists who enroll to this Programme are required to register in the eHRSS. The eHRSS allows the private ophthalmologists to access the patient’s clinical information in HA. It also allows a 2-way public-private patient information exchange by sharing diagnosis or treatment records to enhance continuity of care for the patient.

Basically, an eHR-compatible computer system connected to internet is sufficient for accessing eHRSS. Private ophthalmologists can refer to the Manual and User Guide for Healthcare Providers for details. (Softcopy of the Manual and User Guide can be downloaded from eHRSS under User Documents after login)

Patients are required to participate in the eHRSS to enable their clinical information in the HA to be accessed by their private ophthalmologists for the cataract surgeries.  The system (“eHRSS”) is also enhanced particularly for the Programme to allow the private ophthalmologists to input their clinical information which will be returned to the HA patient information database for the patients’ continuation of care.

The private ophthalmologist should report to HA by faxing a Reporting Form as soon as possible and in any event within 48 hours for 3 types of complications where reporting is mandatory.  In addition, all complications should be reported under the eHRSS which will generate regular reports to HA.

He/She should have registered to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS). Once the patient has chosen his/her private ophthalmologist to conduct his/her cataract surgery, he/she should present his/her Programme Registration Number to the doctor who will then enter this number in the eHRSS to log the subsidy.  Please note that once the private ophthalmologist has logged the subsidy, it cannot be reversed.

The patient must approach private ophthalmologist to receive the pre-operative assessment before the Subsidy Expiry Date and complete the cataract surgery within 3 months after the pre-operative assessment.    

After completion of the cataract surgery, the private ophthalmologist will collect co-payment up to $8,000 from patient and on the other hand, the private ophthalmologist will disburse the subsidy amount of $8,000 from HA directly.

Patient information should have been uploaded to the CSP IT Module before Invitation is sent out.  The private ophthalmologist should get sharing consent of eHRSS from the patient before accessing to patient profile under CSP IT Module. 

The patient will return to his/her hospital’s cataract surgery waiting list with their original waiting priority maintained.

The private ophthalmologists will receive remittance advice from HA Bankers via email for the payment of subsidy amount by HA.  The private ophthalmologists may check the claim number shown on the remittance advice for the received subsidy amount.  It is very important for the private ophthalmologist to keep HA updated of the email address to receive the remittance advice.

Under existing HA practice, the patient has one eye listed (left or right) on the cataract surgery waiting list.  If the private ophthalmologist considers that surgery should be done for the other eye based on clinical condition, the private ophthalmologist can arrange with the HA to change the listed eye.

The patient can proceed with the normal medical insurance claim procedure for any payment made, according to respective terms of any medical insurance obtained.  The patient should check details and eligibility with respective insurance agent(s).

All private ophthalmologists participating in the Programme have to be registered Ophthalmology Specialists in the list of specialists of the Medical Council of Hong Kong.

The participating private ophthalmologists also need to follow the “Guidelines on Infection Control Practice” developed for this Programme.

Through the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS), clinical outcomes and complications in relation to the cataract surgeries provided by private ophthalmologists can be monitored.

The HA will conduct a patient satisfaction survey with the support of patients after they have received treatment under the Programme.

The HA acts as the administrator of the Programme.  HA shall not be involved in any way in, and shall not be liable for, any negotiation or agreement between the patient and any private ophthalmologist or for the services rendered by any private ophthalmologist, or in respect of any fee or charge of the private ophthalmologist.

If you are a Civil Servant Eligible Person, you need to paid the co-payment to the private ophthalmologist first and then reimburse the co-payment amount not exceeds HK$8,000 from Department of Health after completion of the cataract surgery.  For the reimbursement of co-payment, please contact the Finance Division of Department of Health at 3107 3415 or 3107 3417.