There was rapid growth of telehealth practice during the COVID‐19 outbreak in 2020. In surgery, there were beneficial effects in terms of saving time and avoiding physical contact between healthcare professionals and patients when using telehealth in the delivery of perioperative care. As telehealth is gaining momentum, the evolving ethical and medico‐legal challenges arising from this alternative mode of doctor–patient interaction cannot be underestimated. With reference to the “Ethical Guidelines on Practice of Telemedicine” issued by the Medical Council of Hong Kong and some published court and disciplinary cases from other common law jurisdictions, this article discusses relevant ethical and medico‐legal issues in telehealth practice with emphasis on the following areas: duty of care; communication and contingency; patient‐centred care and informed consent; limitations and standard of care; keeping medical records, privacy, and confidentiality; and cross‐territory practice. Whilst existing ethical and legal obligations of practicing medicine are not changed when telehealth is used as opposed to in‐person care, telehealth practitioners are advised to familiarize themselves with the ethical guidelines, to keep abreast of the medico‐legal developments in this area, and to observe the licensure requirements and regulatory regimes of both the jurisdiction where they practice and where their patients are located.

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00 Purpose The functional status of elderly people is the key predictor for health in later life and the increase in health awareness is beneficial for promoting healthy ageing no matter the health status of the individuals 1,2 . In Hong Kong there are limited services on functional assessments available for community-dwelling elderly who are relatively in good health conditions. Most of these assessments are provided in clinical settings which are not easily accessible and need referrals from health professional. This paper presents the development of computerized functional assessments in the Elderly Resources Centre (ERC) of Hong Kong Housing Society for community-dwelling elderly. Method Professionals including occupational therapists, social workers and biomedical engineers were responsible for the development of the assessments. Based on literature review, assessments in four areas including cognitive function, physical function 3 , sensory function 4,5 and basic health index were included. Advanced 3D kinematic software using Kinect was adopted to develop the content and administration of the assessments. A smart card with database system was applied to allow the user for accessing the assessment panels independently and generating individual assessment reports automatically. A group of 30 community-dwelling elderly people were invited to have the trial to evaluate the system. Results & Discussion A series of computerized interactive assessment panels were developed and installed in ERC. In the trial, elderly people could easily follow the user-friendly interface to complete the assessments. The application of the 3D kinematic also provides a fun and pleasant experience for the elderly. The development provides a convenient way for community-dwelling elderly in Hong Kong to have easy-to-obtain functional assessments and advices on healthy ageing. Further study will be conducted on studying population norms on functional status and application on health management programs.

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