The Hospital Authority announced today (20th) that, following the implementation of electronic sick leave certificates and electronic attendance certificates, maternity leave and sick leave certificates issued by the Hospital Authority will also adopt electronic signatures and electronic versions starting from the 24th of this month, replacing traditional manually signed paper certificates.

A spokesperson stated that, similar to traditional paper certificates, electronic maternity leave and sick leave certificates issued by doctors, as well as electronic maternity leave certificates issued by midwives, carry the same legal validity for electronic signatures as handwritten signatures. The electronic certificates will specify the patients name, pregnancy-related information, expected date of delivery and recommended sick leave period.

All electronic medical certificates will feature an encrypted QR code and will be automatically stored in the Records section of the Hospital Authoritys mobile application HA Go. Patients may use them to apply for sick leave or as medical proof for consultations, and may print them on their own if needed.

The spokesperson added that all sick leave certificates, maternity leave certificates and attendance certificates issued by the Hospital Authority have now been fully digitized, reducing the risk of losing paper documents and facilitating patient access. The Hospital Authority encourages patients to switch to electronic certificates going forward, while printed versions of electronic medical certificates will still be provided at the current stage. (hc/da)

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