Battle for Medical Record Sharing: Doctors Use DingTalk to Revolutionize Hong Kong's Healthcare System

When Hong Kong doctors collectively sigh, the sound is probably louder than Temple Street Night Market — not because there are too many patients, but because medical records are too "ghostly." Public hospital systems resemble old shopping malls in Causeway Bay, while private clinic records are like hidden gems in Sham Shui Po — their entrances don't even face each other, and not even Google Maps can navigate between them. Even more absurd: some doctors joke, "Nowadays, finding a patient’s medical record requires chanting past-life incantations and burning three joss sticks." Repeating blood tests and doing X-rays twice have become routine. Patients scratch their heads and ask, "Why do I need to repeat tests I already did?" Doctors can only respond with bitter smiles: "Because your medical record might have already emigrated to Mars."

But relief arrives faster than iced lemon tea at a local diner — frontline doctors have secretly formed a "Medical Ninja Team," using DingTalk to build an underground network for cross-institutional medical record sharing. No more fax machines spitting out paper, no fear of WhatsApp complaints over data breaches. With just one tap — after patient consent — previous medications, allergy histories, and specialist referral records instantly fly onto the doctor’s tablet. One family physician once pulled up an emergency report from Queen Mary Hospital within 30 seconds and exclaimed, "This speed? Even my mum making wonton noodles couldn’t keep up!"

The best part? This system does more than just unclog pipes — it comes with its own “smart memo”: whenever a specialist updates medication, the family doctor gets an instant alert; if a patient misses a follow-up, the system automatically reminds staff to follow up. Medical information has finally transformed from a "missing person" into an "on-demand delivery rider." Doctors can now focus on treating illness instead of playing "medical detective."

Talk about a typical day for Hong Kong doctors — beyond white coats and stethoscopes, the most common tools might be the “holy trinity”: coffee, painkillers, and hands frantically scrolling through WhatsApp searching for medical records. The patient sits right in front of you, yet their file vanishes like secret passageways in Kowloon Walled City. But now, help has arrived — not Superman or an AI doctor, but DingTalk, brought by Alibaba.

Don’t get it wrong — this isn’t another social media app invading doctors’ phones! DingTalk has a clear purpose: work only. No casual chats, no forwarding pseudoscientific articles. Its cloud-based document sharing supports end-to-end encryption, making even hospital legal departments feel at ease. Instant messaging ensures no messages get lost, with read receipts so that sending medical records feels as precise as express delivery. Even better: task tracking and electronic approvals mean referral letters no longer get stuck deep in email inboxes — automatic reminders and one-click sign-offs make administrators question whether they’ll soon be out of a job.

Most importantly, it’s compliant! Data storage meets Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, unlike sending files via WhatsApp — which is basically hanging patients’ privacy out to dry like salted fish online. DingTalk elevates medical collaboration from “underground trade” to “official military operation,” allowing doctors to focus on treatment, not treasure hunts.

“ER Alvin” works a late shift, having just treated a chest pain patient. His fingers swiftly tap DingTalk — uploading ECG results, preliminary diagnosis, and blood test reports to an encrypted group called “Tuen Mun Cardiovascular Referral Hotline.” At the same time, Dr. Cheung, a family doctor in Tsuen Wan, hears a soft “ding.” He opens his phone — full medical records are there, including CT scans he can rotate and zoom. Smiling, he tells his nurse, “No guessing this time — this patient’s journey from ER to my clinic feels like taking the high-speed rail, one seamless ride!”

In the past, patient referrals were like “a blind man crossing a river” — broken data chains were normal. Now, private clinics and public hospitals use DingTalk to establish secure channels. Electronic records come with timestamps and digital signatures, fully compliant with privacy regulations, and support tiered access control across institutions. When specialists receive referrals, they no longer ask, “Did you bring all the imaging?” All test reports are automatically archived — even a gastroscopy result from three years ago is clearly visible.

Better yet, cross-hospital consultations feel like live streaming: radiologists circle lung nodules and add voice annotations instantly; family doctors view scans while asking questions, receiving replies in seconds. Duplicate interviews? Medication conflicts? All vanish. The healthcare ecosystem shifts from “every man for himself” to “joint operations,” and patients are no longer adrift on islands of fragmented information.

Referring a patient used to feel like running a marathon — three phone calls to confirm receipt, two faxes sent (and still losing reports), and X-ray films relied on “human courier.” Once, I even slipped the film into a patient’s coat pocket — but he forgot it on a minibus. In the end, the night-shift team had to play a relay guessing game: “Probably… pneumonia? Maybe on the left?” Now? Open DingTalk, @the specialist, upload encrypted records — done in 30 seconds. Before the patient even leaves the clinic, the specialist has already seen the CT scan.

The most surprising thing? Even senior consultant doctors picked it up quickly. Why? Because the interface is more intuitive than ordering takeout. No need for three-day training sessions — a few taps and you’re sharing records, adding notes, even voice-commenting key points. Some joked, “Finally, we don’t have to rely on telepathy during night handovers anymore.” Handovers used to feel like night racing at Happy Valley — chaotic and risky. Now, every message stays in the group chat. Who saw it, who replied — all transparent. Accountability no longer goes missing.

The tool is simple, but the change is huge — medical records no longer get stuck in paper stacks and telephone lines, but flow as naturally as text messages. Doctors treat patients, not paperwork. This is what healthcare should truly look like.

In the past, waiting for data from the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) felt like waiting for regular mail from the UK — theoretically it would arrive, but would it be next week or next month? DingTalk, on the other hand, is like a Polaroid camera for healthcare — as soon as a patient walks into the consultation room, their records are already in the doctor’s hands. Even allergy alerts are automatically highlighted in red — faster than a nurse’s reminder.

Even better, DingTalk doesn’t just unblock main channels — it quietly connects AI pathways too. Imagine: AI automatically summarizes ten years of medical history into three key points; drug interaction warnings pop up instantly — like having an intern who never clocks out, watching every prescription. One orthopedic surgeon joked, “I used to worry about combining painkillers with anticoagulants — now DingTalk gives a ‘ding,’ sharper than the pharmacology professor in my head.”

Rather than endlessly waiting for some “perfect system” to fall from the sky, why not use existing digital tools today? DingTalk treats eHRSS’s “communication delay and muscle weakness,” making medical records truly mobile — not sleeping on servers, but alive in every second of clinical care. When technology stops feeling cold and distant, and blends into hospital routines as naturally as a coffee machine, patients become the real winners. After all, golden hours for saving lives don’t have time to wait for slow system boot-ups.

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