ENG-2003 — Page 223

HEALTH

The subsidiary legislation on Chinese medicines was passed by the Legislative Council in January 2003. Applications for Chinese medicine trader licences and for registration of proprietary Chinese medicines have been open since May and December 2003, respectively.

Western Medicines

The regulation of Western medicines in Hong Kong is stipulated under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance. Acting on the authority of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, the Department of Health registers and approves the marketing of pharmaceutical products, issues licences to drug manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers, and takes action against illegal sale of controlled drugs in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force. Legislative controls are also enforced on poisons, antibiotics and dangerous drugs.

During the year, 3 906 applications for registration of pharmaceutical products were approved. At year-end, there were 20 415 pharmaceutical products registered in Hong Kong.

Health Care Professionals

Under existing legislation, 12 types of health care professionals are required to be registered with their respective boards or councils before they are allowed to practice in Hong Kong. In December, the professionals registered with their respective boards and councils numbered: 11016 doctors, 1848 dentists, 4 738 Chinese medicine practitioners, 43 782 nurses (including registered and enrolled nurses), 4 791 midwives, 1 457 pharmacists, 67 chiropractors, 1758 physiotherapists, 1073 occupational therapists, 2 519 medical laboratory technologists, 1921 optometrists and 1551 radiographers.

Medical Charges

In the Health Care Reform Consultation Document published in December 2000, one of the strategic directions on health care financing was to revamp the fee structure of Hong Kong's public health care sector, so that the public subsidies could be targeted to areas of most need, and inappropriate use and misuse of services could be reduced. Following a comprehensive review to examine how the relative priorities of services provided may be reflected in the subsidy level, the Administration announced its decision to revamp the fee structure of the public health care system in November 2002. All revised charges had taken effect from April 1, 2003. Following the fee restructuring, charges continue to be affordable to the public. Overall, the government subsidy still represents a high level of 96 per cent of costs.

It has been the Government's policy that no one will be denied adequate medical care due to lack of means. To ensure that this principle is upheld after the introduction of charges for accident and emergency service at public hospitals in November 2002, recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) have been exempted from payment of the charges. In addition, an enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism has been implemented to enable vulnerable groups other than CSSA recipients, including low-income patients, chronically ill patients and elderly patients in economic hardship, to be granted a fee waiver for accident and emergency and other public medical services.

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