Hong Kong doctors boost efficiency by 58% as DingTalk breaks down healthcare silos

Core Features of the DingTalk Healthcare Solution

Hong Kong's healthcare management has long been constrained by the inability to share data seamlessly. The DingTalk solution, designed specifically for clinical environments, offers three core capabilities: end-to-end encryption, audit trails, and multi-institution identity verification. By integrating instant messaging with collaborative electronic medical records (EMR), it enables doctors across hospitals to quickly exchange patient information in compliance with regulations.

• End-to-End Encrypted Communication: Utilizes TLS 1.3 and AES-256 encryption technologies to ensure that all discussions regarding medical records remain secure during transmission, preventing unauthorized access or tampering. This meets the Level 3 cybersecurity protection requirements outlined in Alibaba Cloud’s "White Paper on Smart Healthcare" (2023).
• Audit Trail: Fully logs every access, modification, and sharing action—including timestamp, user identity, and operation type—supporting post-event auditing and accountability, thereby strengthening governance mechanisms.
• Multi-Institution Identity Verification: Integrates OAuth 2.0 with registration data from the Hong Kong Medical Council to enable single sign-on and fine-grained role-based access control across clinics and hospitals, preventing unauthorized access.

According to technical assessments, DingTalk has achieved certification under ISO 27799 for health information security, covering data anonymization, access policies in clinical settings, and disaster recovery procedures. It is among the few public platforms to meet such professional standards.

Why Is Medical Record Sharing So Difficult in Hong Kong’s Current System?

The emergence of the DingTalk solution for doctor-to-doctor record sharing reflects deep structural bottlenecks within traditional systems. Despite having advanced medical services, Hong Kong faces strict limitations under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), compounded by technological fragmentation, making inter-institutional collaboration extremely challenging.

• Regulatory Constraints: Cap. 486 mandates minimal disclosure of personal health data but fails to clearly define the boundary between “sharing” and “referral,” leading most physicians to adopt a risk-averse approach.
• System Heterogeneity: Over 12 different EMR formats are used across Hong Kong—including HA eHRSS, Cupid, MediLink—resulting in incompatible systems and significant technical barriers.
• Institutional Silos: Public and private healthcare sectors operate independently, trapping patient data in “data silos.” Referrals often require repetitive form-filling and redundant tests.
• Lack of Identity Authentication: The absence of a unified digital identity system makes it difficult to track data flows and authorization logs, increasing cybersecurity concerns.

A 2023 study by the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health found that due to the lack of record sharing, annual costs from duplicated imaging and lab tests reach up to HK$1.2 billion. This not only wastes resources but also delays timely diagnosis and treatment.

How Does DingTalk Ensure Compliance with Hong Kong’s Privacy Laws?

Hong Kong healthcare management places high importance on data compliance. The DingTalk solution fully complies with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance through “dynamic permission control” and localized encrypted storage.

• Dynamic Permission Control: Doctors can only access relevant patient data while actively participating in designated consultation groups. Once they leave the group, their access rights are automatically revoked—implementing the “minimum necessary principle” and real-time revocation mechanism in line with guidance issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (2024).

The system employs sharded end-to-end encryption: medical records are split and encrypted before upload, stored on AWS Hong Kong servers certified under ISO 27001. Raw data never passes through third parties in plain text, satisfying Section 4.2 of the Ordinance regarding both data location and security.

Critically, the platform has received preliminary technical endorsement from the Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA), becoming one of the few cross-institutional collaboration tools backed by a professional body—an important milestone marking its transition from technical design to practical adoption.

Real-World Evidence: How Much Has Doctor Productivity Improved?

The DingTalk solution for shared medical records demonstrated tangible results in a pilot project at Tuen Mun Hospital: overall physician efficiency improved by 58%. Decision-making time for referrals between emergency and surgical teams dropped from an average of 4.2 hours to just 1.1 hours, significantly streamlining clinical workflows.

This efficiency gain stems from improvements across three key metrics:

• Medical record access frequency increased by 67%
• Cross-department message response rate reached 91%
• Paper referral form usage decreased by 76%

These figures come from internal hospital audit reports, reflecting how system integration effectively reduces administrative burden.

Doctors reported that the "one-click expert group summon" feature replaced traditional phone coordination, allowing immediate upload of medical images and vital signs, improving pre-consultation assessment completeness. On average, each doctor saved 47 minutes per day in administrative tasks—particularly impactful during night shifts and handover periods.

Can Hong Kong Build a Citywide Healthcare Collaboration Network?

The ultimate goal of Hong Kong healthcare management is to establish a citywide healthcare collaboration network. The DingTalk solution provides the technical foundation to realize this vision. The key lies in integrating DingTalk’s API with the government’s Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) to build a "Health Collaboration Hub" as a secure data exchange node.

This hub could connect various clinic management systems and interface with eHRSS, enabling bidirectional, real-time flow of clinical data. Drawing lessons from Singapore’s National Digital Health Blueprint, Hong Kong could implement this in stages:

• Phase One: Specialist physician alliances form closed collaboration groups to test remote consultation workflows;
• Phase Two: Integrate hospitals under the Hospital Authority to securely access community care records;
• Phase Three: Fully connect private practitioners, creating a dynamic, territory-wide ecosystem.

A 2023 McKinsey model estimates that successful implementation could increase overall healthcare capacity by 15–20%, reduce duplicate testing, shorten waiting times, and enhance cross-hospital management of chronic diseases.

We dedicated to serving clients with professional DingTalk solutions. If you'd like to learn more about DingTalk platform applications, feel free to contact our online customer service or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. With a skilled development and operations team and extensive market experience, we’re ready to deliver expert DingTalk services and solutions tailored to your needs!