Cross-Border Medical Services for Hong Kong’s Older Adults in Mainland China: The Implications of COVID-19 for the Future of Telemedicine

ABSTRACT

Cross-border services and support are becoming an increasingly important part of Hong Kong’s social policy because an increasing number of its older citizens are choosing to live in mainland China. Unfortunately, with the recent outbreak of COVID-19, medical services for cross-border older adults have been blocked due to strict immigration controls. This article examines the effects of COVID-19 on these older adults, with a specific focus on the interruption of medical services and the remedial measures taken by the government and non-governmental organizations. It also discusses the prospect of delivering care for cross-border older people using telemedicine, which is considered one of the most important methods for overcoming space-distance and reducing the risk of cross-contamination caused by close contact.

KEYWORDS:

• Cross-border care
• medical services
• Hong Kong
• mainland China
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Lingnan University Innovation and Impact Fund (IIF) (Project Number: KT19A6).