SMART HEALTH COMMUNITIES From sick care to health care

ABSTRACT

Health care systems around the world are now facing unprecedented challenges due to various factors including the tsunami of ageing populations, unhealthy lifestyles and diets as well as the recurrent and new emergence of infectious diseases such as flu and COVID-19. Government’s health policies need to be revisited in an attempt to put extra efforts and resources in primary care and public health. Despite the Alma-Ata Declaration of the international primary health care (PHC) conference signed in 1978, PHC models nowadays need to shift the paradigm from ‘sick care’ to ‘health care’ with the innovative model of ‘Smart Health Communities' (SHC). SHC address various stakeholders involved in enhancing the health of the citizens in the localities or cities. This initiative is within the domain of ‘Smart Cities’ with the adoption of ‘Internet of Things’ to enhance the collection of essential health data about the health status of patients and citizens in the community. SHCs are especially important in primary and community care. By means of case studies of Hong Kong and Australia, the values and impacts of using digital health and networked technologies such as wearables, electronic health record systems to facilitate SHC are highlighted to address the factors for success and the difficulties encountered. These experiences gained from Asia-Pacific regions are deemed to be the learning points for other cities to reflect about their health care systems especially in community care level so as to innovate and to further shift their focus from sick care to health care. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Ben Y.F. Fong and Martin C.S. Wong;individual chapters, the contributors.