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Health
strengthened the public healthcare services safety net to provide better protection for patients requiring self-financed drugs and treatment, including injecting $10 billion to the Samaritan Fund in 2012. The government continues to take forward various healthcare service reform measures, including enhancing primary care, promoting public-private partnership and developing a territory-wide electronic health record sharing system.
Organisational Framework
The FHB formulates policies and allocates resources for Hong Kong's healthcare services, with the aim of protecting and promoting public health, providing lifelong holistic healthcare to every citizen, and ensuring that no one is denied medical care due to lack of means.
The Department of Health (DH) is the government's health adviser and executes healthcare policies and statutory functions. It safeguards the community's health through a range of promotional, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services.
The Hospital Authority (HA), established under the Hospital Authority Ordinance, provides public hospital and related services. It offers medical treatment and rehabilitation services to patients through hospitals, specialist clinics, general outpatient clinics, and outreaching services organised into seven 'clusters' that together serve the whole of Hong Kong.
The Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee, chaired by the Secretary for Food and Health and with members from different sectors of the community, advises government on the development of health and medical policies.
Healthcare Reform
In response to the challenges of an ageing population, advances in medical technology, and rising healthcare costs, the government has embarked on a number of new initiatives to enhance the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system:
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Private health insurance - the FHB is formulating detailed proposals for implementing a voluntary and government-regulated private health insurance scheme, the Health Protection Scheme, which aims to provide more accessible health insurance products with better protection and more transparency and certainty for the insured.
Healthcare manpower planning - the FHB is conducting a strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development, covering 13 statutorily regulated healthcare professions, to ensure an adequate supply of healthcare manpower to meet Hong Kong's long-term healthcare needs.
Private healthcare service development - the government has set aside new land for private hospital development and a review is being undertaken by the FHB to enhance the regulation of private healthcare facilities (including private hospitals) for better safety and quality of private healthcare services and for greater price transparency.
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