ou might recognise the following scenarios: you show your HA181 to a colleague in a general outpatient clinic, only to be told it has expired. Or, you go to a staff clinic without realising that you have run out of HA181s.

These irritating situations will no longer happen in future, thanks to the implementation of the Eligibility Checking System (ECS) on 18 October.

From that day, you won't need an HA 181 when you visit a staff or HA clinic. Instead, you (or your eligible dependant) should declare your status and present your Hong Kong ID card, and the ECS will confirm your entitlement to HA medical and dental benefits.

However, a valid HA 181 or HA 182 is also acceptable during the "parallel run period" from 18 October 2010 to 31 January 2011, even though the system does not have the records. You and your dependants are therefore advised to bring along one of these documents if you seek services between those dates, in order to ensure you are not denied benefits due to outdated information in the system.

To ensure you enjoy these benefits, you should keep your HR office informed of any changes in your own or your dependents' data as quickly as possible.

To ensure the data already recorded in the Human Capital Management (HCM) system are accurate and up to date, the HR Department will ask you to check and confirm them during November or December.