Application of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) in Primary Care
摘要
The healthcare system of Hong Kong amalgamates features of comprehensive public healthcare operations in tandem with the provision of services from private institutions and practitioners. As Hong Kong mounts with the pressures of unmet medical needs and consequences from public health outbreaks, the urgency for a robust primary healthcare model has been at the forefront, with multiple challenges unfolding. Currently, traditional primary care services have been reactive instead of being strategic; deployment of resources being inefficient; systematic public–private coordination is either disjointed or lacking, and therefore, a “patient-accelerated, technology-harmonised” (“PATH”) primary healthcare model that encapsulates environment, social and governance (“ESG”) elements have been proposed. Rather than operating in siloes, the PATH primary healthcare model emphasises a transdisciplinary team mindset, information technology empowerment, and responsible impact measurements at the heart of addressing issues of the sick and healthy. It stresses the importance of primary healthcare as a champion of the social determinants of health, environmental stewardship, and ethical decision-making processes. This chapter presents and describes current hypotheses and pilot applications of the PATH primary healthcare model in Hong Kong, the obstacles and promises to full implementation of ESG principles throughout care settings, and the steps to be taken to preserve and deliver primary care services in Hong Kong with impact and responsibility.