Recently, I watched a series of TV albums with the theme of discussing the waiting time of Hong Kong's public medical specialist outpatient clinics. The several episodes all follow the same story: because patients cannot start the private clinic charges of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan because of the burden, so Choosing to queue up at the specialist outpatient clinics of public hospitals, but part of the waiting time is calculated in years, so that patients with malignant diseases cannot get immediate services.
Written by: Dr. Li Xia Yin, Director of Strategy and Development, Hospital Authority
The beginnings of several stories all have one thing in common. They all start with patients who cannot afford private charges.
Perhaps before discussing how to solve the long waiting time of public medical institutions, society must first define whether medical services are rights or commodities, and then can conduct in-depth discussions on this basis.
This is not a new topic, but society does not seem to have a clear stand.
If medical services are regarded as commodities, prices should be dictated by the free market and affected by supply and demand, and the government should not intervene and control.
The limited supply of medical staff and hospital beds in Hong Kong, coupled with natural factors such as the ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, has made the supply of medical care far behind the demand, and the price of medical services has continued to rise.
In addition, medical care is a very professional knowledge. Even if the information is open, there will be asymmetry information. It is difficult for ordinary citizens to make the most advantageous choice for themselves without medical staff.
It is not surprising that a person has multiple roles in suggesting plans, explaining information, setting prices, and providing services. There are conflicts in identity.
If medical care is regarded as a commodity and is only regulated through market mechanisms, there is a chance that the public cannot afford medical expenses.
The ageing population of Hong Kong has an increasing demand for medical services.
Hong Kong's medical system is proud of its "dual-track system." The public medical system is highly subsidized by the government. It is part of the government's welfare policy. To a certain extent, it is the right of citizens to receive medical services at affordable prices.
The private system is a free price-setting market. Regardless of the freedom of price-setting and the competition for human resources, the public medical system loses at the starting line.
If the performance of the two systems (such as waiting time) is directly compared, it is undoubtedly the "comparison of apples and oranges", which is really incredible.
If the two systems can compete with each other and complement each other's strengths, one is to bring the public medical system closer to the free market, and freely set prices by compulsory medical insurance as a "notary firm", or the government-led control of the private medical market.
It is difficult for public and private medical services to directly compete.
The future of Hong Kong's medical services still needs a lot of discussion.
After discussing 30 years of medical reforms, under the premise of the continuous development of Hong Kong's medical services and the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, we should all set our minds to create a new one.
"Hong Kong 01" "01 Medical Clinic" cooperates with the Hospital Authority to publish a column "Garden Tour" written by medical staff every Wednesday.
Xinglin.
"Xinglin" comes from the story of Dong Feng, a famous doctor in the Three Kingdoms era. Later generations praised the medical care with "Xinglin". Four Xinglinzhong from the Hospital Authority led a tour of the Xinglin Grand View Garden. They counted Xinglin people and Xinglin affairs through text and shared The reason for the little bit of Xie Zhong.
Hospital Authority: When the operation is feasible and does not affect emergency services, you need to travel with peace of mind to enter the public hospital Favorable Rising Stars will save time during follow-up visits, and 90% of public hospital employees’ retirement age will be extended to 65 years old as soon as possible to discuss at the HA meeting next Thursday
