Policy Address

Enhance Public and Private Healthcare Services

187. The Government will strengthen the HA's public healthcare services, including:

  1. reviewing the structure and levels of the HA's fees and charges to encourage prudent use of services and direct resources to patients who need them most and for those with serious or critical conditions, while increasing support for patients with financial difficulties and strengthening the financial sustainability of the targeted subsidisation of public healthcare services;

  2. strengthening the centralised procurement of drugs and medical devices by various clusters of the HA system in order to enhance their bargaining power and to expedite, in a more proactive manner, the introduction of new drugs, meeting efficacy and cost-effectiveness standards to the Drug Formulary;

  3. formulating a directory for inherited and rare diseases by using the Hong Kong Genome Institute's genomic data, thereby facilitating early diagnosis and treatment by clinical teams, while supporting relevant research and clinical trials to promote precision medicine;

  4. fully integrating the paediatric services of various clusters at Hong Kong Children's Hospital and developing more advanced healthcare services to make the best use of the Children's Hospital;

  5. finalising the projects and timetable of the Second Hospital Development Plan to dovetail with the development of the Northern Metropolis and to address the needs of local districts;

  6. setting up, in accordance with national accreditation standards, the first stroke centre and the second chest pain centre;

  7. enhancing the triage system and referral arrangements for specialist out-patient services, including setting up inter-specialty, integrated, out-patient clinics to avoid the need for multiple referrals; and

  8. increasing the service capacity for cataract surgeries by at least 20%.