The GBA Healthcare Group and CUHK Medical Centre announce strategic cooperation to jointly build The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem

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HONG KONG, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CUHK Medical Centre ("CUHKMC") and The GBA Healthcare Group (HK) Limited ("GBAH Group") signed a strategic cooperation agreement, to jointly build The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem. Dr Hong FUNG, Chief Executive Officer of CUHK Medical Centre and Dr Felix LEE, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the GBA Healthcare Group were present at the signing ceremony for this collaboration.

Based on years of experience in Guangdong-Hong Kong medical collaboration, GBAH Group officially launches the initiative to establish "The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem" and announces CUHK Medical Centre as its first partner hospital in Hong Kong. Both parties are committed to patient health outcomes and will jointly provide cross-border healthcare services covering general outpatient services in the Greater Bay Area, and specialized inpatient services in Hong Kong for residents in the Greater Bay Area. Concurrently, CUHKMC declares GBAH Group as its "Designated Value Based Care Insurance Proposition Partner", aiming to meet policyholders' healthcare service needs in Hong Kong by partnering with insurance companies to create health insurance plans that offer all-inclusive package fees and cover cross-border medical services.

With the acceleration of the aging society, medical expenses are rapidly increasing. However, there is still a need to improve medical efficiency and effectiveness. Due to insufficient prevention, the number of patients with tumors and chronic diseases is increasing year by year. The disease-centered medical model needs to quickly transition to a health-centered model. "Value-based care" concept emerged in 2006 and has since become a widely discussed topic globally. However, in China, it is still in its early stages. In contrast to traditional healthcare models, value-based care seeks to balance the business paradox of "good, fast, and cheap" by providing better healthcare services and achieving improved health outcomes at more affordable medical costs.

Value-based care has the following characteristics:

1. Focuses on health rather than disease.
2. Charges based on patient health outcomes rather than services.
3. Provides the most cost-effective healthcare services under the premise of improving patient health outcomes.

For various stakeholders in healthcare services, value-based healthcare holds the following values:

1. Payers: Controls costs and reduces risks by creating health insurance products based on disease prevention.
2. Providers: Focuses on delivering services most beneficial to patient health without worrying about over or under servicing.
3. Patients: Obtains better treatment and preventive care at a lower cost.

By coordinating the incentive mechanisms for payers, healthcare providers, and patients, the goal is to improve societal health levels and reduce overall healthcare expenditures.

Dr Hong FUNG, Chief Executive Officer of CUHK Medical Centre ("CUHKMC"), said, "We are delighted to form strategic partnership with GBAH Group, which has been deeply rooted in the Greater Bay Area for many years, promoting Hong Kong-style medical services to multiple cities in the Greater Bay Area through a public-private partnership model. It is a pioneer and promoter of Guangdong-Hong Kong medical collaboration, possessing valuable experience in value-based care practices. CUHKMC shares a common goal with GBAH Group to promote population health, and aim to serve the 87 million residents in the Greater Bay Area through mutual medical support and exchanges, in particular serving the 600,000 Hong Kong residents living in the Greater Bay Area."

Dr Felix LEE, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the GBA Healthcare Group ("GBAH Group"), said, "We are delighted that CUHKMC has become the first partner hospital in Hong Kong for The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem. As the convener of the collaborative system, we carefully select clinics, hospitals, insurance companies, technology companies, and other medical-related institutions in the Greater Bay Area. Leveraging the advantages of general prevention and specialized treatment, we harness the dual protection of medical services and health insurance, providing trustworthy, affordable, and easily accessible medical services for residents in the Greater Bay Area. CUHKMC is a private university-affiliated teaching hospital in Hong Kong, with outstanding specialized capabilities and strong research and clinical strength. As the first Hong Kong partner hospital, CUHKMC will complement the mainland medical system, jointly ensuring the health of residents in the Greater Bay Area. So far, GBAH Group has over a hundred partner clinics and 8 partner hospitals being engaged in Guangdong-Hong Kong collaboration, offering diverse choices for healthcare and cross-border medical services for residents in the Greater Bay Area. Going forward, we look forward to collaborating with more partners dedicated to value-based care to jointly create a distinctive value-based care model in the Greater Bay Area."

The strategic cooperation between CUHKMC and GBAH Group will begin with research and clinical exchanges at the hospital where the Hong Kong-Macau Residents Healthcare Services Center is located. Through a cross-border two-way referral service model, it aims to enrich healthcare choices for residents in the Greater Bay Area and enhance their medical experience from outpatient to inpatient, from routine care to disease treatment. With the support of the partnership system, the two parties will create innovative insurance products centered around patient health, using the most cost-effective healthcare service payment model to provide residents with the most valuable health coverage.

About The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem

The GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem is a regional collaborative medical service system initiated by GBAH Group. Participants in the partnership system include payers (insurance and reinsurance companies), service providers (hospitals and clinics), technology companies (cross-border data and clinical systems), and retail pharmacies in Hong Kong and cities in the Greater Bay Area. The partnership ecosystem, centered around residents' health, aims to achieve the goal of keeping residents healthy and preventing illnesses through medical collaboration. When residents require medical services, the partnership ecosystem will synergize by integrating internet hospitals, comprehensive primary care services, and hospital specialty diagnostic and treatment resources, leveraging the advantages of cross-border medical services. This ensures that patients receive the most cost-effective treatment and preventive care, enables medical service providers to focus on delivering services that are most conducive to patient health, and allows payers to focus on creating health insurance products favorable for disease prevention, ultimately realizing the goal of trustworthy, affordable, and easily accessible healthcare services.

GBAH Group is dedicated to promoting the development of value-based healthcare. Over the past five years, the company has collaborated with various local governments in the Greater Bay Area, establishing a collaborative medical network between Guangdong and Hong Kong, laying the foundation for the implementation of value-based care. Specific measures include:

1. Providing international internet hospital services for convenient customer consultations and health inquiries. The company assigns exclusive family doctors to customers, establishes personalized health records, and achieves long-term continuous health management.
2. Establishing Hong Kong-style general outpatient clinics in the six major cities of the Greater Bay Area for convenient local consultations. These clinics, staffed by family doctors, offer comprehensive, continuous, and personalized care services to families in the Greater Bay Area, providing health care and disease prevention services.
3. Establishing a specialized referral service system in public community health service centers and large public hospitals, organizing Guangdong-Hong Kong expert consultations and multidisciplinary consultations, and coordinating the necessary medical resources.
4. Forming a cross-border service network with Hong Kong outpatient clinics and hospitals to provide customers with cross-border medical services ranging from general to specialized care.
5. Establishing the GBA Integrated Value Based Care Partnership Ecosystem, collaborating with international medical and insurance partners to introduce comprehensive outpatient and inpatient insurance services. This aims to achieve the goals of improving medical outcomes, reducing medical costs, and enhancing patient experience in value-based care.

About CUHK Medical Centre

CUHK Medical Centre ("CUHKMC") is a non-profit, private teaching hospital wholly owned by The Chinese University of Hong Kong ("CUHK"). With a social mission to bridge the service gap between the public and private healthcare systems, CUHKMC is dedicated to offering quality healthcare service at transparent and affordable package fees. In line with the not-for-profit principle, all surpluses from the Hospital will be ploughed back to the Hospital for hospital development and the CUHK Faculty of Medicine for research and teaching.

About The GBA Healthcare Group

The GBA Healthcare Group ("GBAH Group") is a strategic investment of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited ("CTFE"). GBAH Group actively collaborates with regional governments and both insurance and reinsurance companies to advance the development of the Value Based Care ("VBC") model, with the goal of delivering accessible and affordable health care for all residents in the Greater Bay Area. As of November, 2023, GBAH Group has partnered with various local governments to train over 2,500 GOLD™-certified doctors and nurses, establishing more than 160 GOLD™ General Outpatient Clinics, and set up five Hong Kong - Macau Residents healthcare services centers in large scale public hospitals. For more details, please visit www.gbahealthcare.com.hk

SOURCE GBA Healthcare Group