The Hospital Authority (HA) on Monday said it is launching an electronic medical certificate system for patients using public hospitals and clinics.

From March 6, doctors will be able to issue sick notes through the authority’s HA Go app – where they can be amended, shared and stored for up to two years.

The certificate will be encrypted with a designated QR code for verification purposes.

Larry Lee, a chief manager with the authority, said the new system will save patients a lot of time.

"If they have to amend or ask for a re-issuance of sick leave [certificate], under the current practice, they have to call up and come back to pick up the sick leave [certificate]. But after the electronic sick leave mechanism applies, actually it's not necessary for patients to come back," he said.

Lee also noted that patients who prefer to get their sick notes in paper form can continue to do so.

"We will keep the traditional pathway so the patients can still obtain a paper copy while they stay around in the hospital. But on the other hand, actually the HA Go [app] has reached a very optimal level. Nowadays, most of the patients have access."

Ultimately, Lee said the plan is to go paperless, even though there’s no timetable for that yet.

Henry Yeung from the Hong Kong Chinese Medical Association welcomed the move, saying it will be more convenient for patients and more environmentally friendly.

Yeung added that he hopes private clinics will join the public sector in giving out digital sick notes.

"I think the private sector will follow suit very soon. Before the pandemic, the private doctors would not dare to do telemedicine. But now with the pandemic, telemedicine has made a great progress," he said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Hong Kong Patients' Voices, Alex Lam, said the authorities should beef up security measures to protect patients' data.

"As the HA system allows persons other than the patients to verify the authenticity of such certificates, I think the system has to be secure, so that no breach of personal information could happen," he said.

According to the Hospital Authority, the HA Go app has been downloaded more than 2.2 million times and there are currently around 1.75 million active users.