Thanks to efficient medical data circulation, Qianhai has inaugurated instant insurance claims for Hong Kong residents receiving medical treatment on the Chinese mainland, cutting the claims process from months to immediate settlement.

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone announced on Wednesday that it recently settled its first instant insurance claim for Hong Kong residents heading to the north for medical treatment.

The breakthrough was realized thanks to a data space launched by Qianhai in July to facilitate cross-boundary medical data circulation.

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The data space ensures patient privacy and data security through technologies such as data encryption and access control, while also reducing cross-border data costs and compliance risks for hospitals, insurance companies, and other institutions. This facilitates the flow of medical data in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

This measure removes the burden of upfront medical payments for patients, while leveraging digital methods to mitigate the risk of insurance fraud.

With the deepening of people-to-people interactions within the Greater Bay Area, the demand for cross-boundary healthcare has surged, highlighting the urgent need to resolve the challenges related to medical data circulation.

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In 2024, over 156 million residents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan made cross-boundary travels through checkpoints in Shenzhen, marking a 48.4 percent increase year-on-year.

Contact the writer at bingcun@chinadailyhk.com