Development Focus
- To encourage Hong Kong's private healthcare services providers and professional groups to develop and conduct training in the Greater Bay Area.
- To deepen cooperation in the field of Chinese medicine development and support Hong Kong to leverage on the strength of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute for promoting standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine.
- To improve coordination mechanism on emergency medical rescue services, explore rolling out a pilot cooperation scheme for cross-boundary referral of patients between designated public hospitals.
- To promote integration of medical and elderly care to create an environment favourable for Hong Kong and Macao residents to retire in Guangdong.
Healthcare system in Hong Kong is of high standard and served with dedicated healthcare professionals. The Government supports the development of Hong Kong's quality healthcare services in the Greater Bay Area. The Government has also been actively promoting the continual development of Chinese medicine, strengthening the services provision, research and innovation. The planning and development of the first Chinese medicine hospital in Hong Kong is underway. The Government is also actively planning the establishment of the permanent Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute to develop Hong Kong into an international hub for scientific research on Chinese medicines testing and quality control.
- Under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), statutory healthcare professionals who are registered to practise in Hong Kong are allowed to provide short-term services in the Mainland.
- The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital), wholly invested by the Shenzhen Government and managed by the University of Hong Kong, is a comprehensive public hospital. Since its operation in July 2012, the HKU-SZ Hospital has been providing healthcare services to the public in addition to undertaking research and teaching.
- The Government has launched the Pilot Scheme at the HKU-SZ Hospital in October 2015 to enable eligible Hong Kong elders to use health care vouchers to pay for the fees of outpatient services provided by designated clinics/departments of the HKU-SZ Hospital. The Pilot Scheme has been regularised with effect from 26 June 2019.
- Hong Kong's healthcare system ranked the most efficient healthcare system among the 56 economies covered in a study conducted by Bloomberg in 2018.
- As a facilitation measure for Hong Kong residents working and living in the Greater Bay Area to seek healthcare services, the Central Government announced on 6 November that the use of Hong Kong-registered drugs and common medical devices are allowed in designated Hong Kong-owned healthcare institutions in the Greater Bay Area. The Food and Health Bureau will be in discussion with relevant Mainland authorities on the implementation details, including implementing the measure at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital on a pilot basis.
The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital
