From March 6, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority will start issuing digital medical certificates as it hopes to gradually phase out printed sick notes that it currently uses.
“The new version of the medical certificate will adopt a digital signature without requiring a doctor to sign manually. The digital signature is of the same legal effect as a traditional manual signature.” said Dr. Larry lee, chief manager of cluster performance at the HA.
"Digitisation of the medical certificate is an important milestone in the development of the smart hospital."
Dr. Larry Lee, Hospital Authority of Hong Kong
He added that switching to digital medical certificates streamlines the process of telehealth services, enabling the HA to enhance patient satisfaction.
The electronic certificate will be automatically stored in "My Record" under the HA Go mobile app feature "MyHealth". It can be verified by scanning its encrypted QR code and inputting the patient's name and sick leave date.
Patients can use it for sick leave applications or as proof of consultation. For those patients issued with an attendance certificate, the electronic version will also be stored in HA Go.
Switching to digital medical certificates will make for a better experience for patients, and – for those receiving a teleconsultation – the certificate will be delivered immediately, discarding the need to go to the hospital or clinic to pick it document.
Meanwhile, printed medical certificate will continue to be available.
