Medical win-win solution

Currently the public medical service system falls far short of Hong Kong residents’ demand, with general medicine clinics struggling to handle super-long waiting lists. As the city’s population continues to age, the government needs to be more aggressive in having private clinics share the burden of public hospitals to let the two medical service systems develop in a more balanced fashion.

According to recent press reports, the government intends to expand the public-private medical service cooperation plan currently running in Tin Shui Wai to Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts, where grassroots households and senior residents concentrate. Under the public-private medical service cooperation scheme, the Hospital Authority will reimburse part of the cost of chronic illness patients’ visits to private clinics so that one can see the doctor for just a HK$45 registry fee, the same as at public hospitals. At the same time the Hospital Authority also subsidizes private doctors about HK$130 for each patient referred by public hospital they see.

Some 6,000 patients have joined the pilot scheme in Tin Shui Wai. Some private doctors have suggested the government should allow private doctors to buy medicine at below-market prices to attract more private practices into the cooperation scheme.

There is no question the public-private medical service cooperation scheme should be expanded to other districts sooner rather than later. Currently diabetes and hypertension patients have to see doctors every two months and their regular visits add pressure to general medicine clinics of public hospitals. Private clinics can help ease public hospitals’ burden by sharing part of their workload in chronic disease patients.

The public-private cooperation scheme is a win-win solution for longwait for patients and the heavy workload for public hospitals that also benefits private practitioners of general medicine. This author suggests the government should implement the cooperation scheme in other districts sooner rather than later and review each district’s initial implementation to perfect localized public-private medical service cooperation.