Nurse clinic service in Hong Kong was first developed in year 2000 in the Hospital Authority (HA). The nurse clinic was introduced at the time with the aims to improve patients’ access to care and clinical outcomes. In 2016, there was a review on the nurse clinics which later on were transformed into the integrated clinics. The integrated clinic model of Specialty Outpatient (SOP) Services was piloted in 2018, with inputs of a multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. The HA specifically highlighted a key performance indicator in 2022for these multidisciplinary integrated clinics, which was the reduction of SOP waiting time. There is a shift of expectation of what nurse clinics can contribute over time, from individual patient to system outcomes. Pursuing this repositioning, one may ask, how can the nurse clinics do more and make bigger impacts? In this presentation, the following four questions will be raised and explored: (1) How to work smarter? (2) How to produce wider reach? (3) How to create bigger impacts? (4) How to build signature brand? Some key solutions in addressing these questions include population health management, technology, patient engagement and brand building. Population health management is recognized as an integrative, holistic and data-driven approach in managing a defined group of clients. Technology can enhance accurate and efficient assessment and treatment. With the accumulation of big data, AI models can be built to facilitate risk stratification and predictive analysis. Patient engagement is important to activate inner resources of individuals through informed decision-making and co-production of care planning in achieving best patient outcomes. A clear linkage of intervention with outcomes can help inform the signature piece of the nurse clinic, which embodies a distinctive and crucial component in an efficient and effective healthcare system.
