166 Health
Primary Healthcare Services
Primary health care is the first point of contact where individuals and their families are subject to a continuing healthcare process, which aims at avoiding hospitalisation and improving their health condition in general.
Clinic Services
Public general outpatient services are primarily targeted at low-income families, patients with chronic diseases and other vulnerable groups. Throughout the territory, the Hospital Authority operates 75 general outpatient clinics. In 2006, about 4.9 million visits by 1.3 million patients were recorded at those clinics. Since October 2006, appointments for consultation can be made by telephone. Some $1.3 billion were spent on public general outpatient services in the financial year 2005-06. There were continuing efforts at these clinics to promote the development of family medicine and enhance the interface and integration of primary and secondary care, as well as enhance the quality and efficiency of primary healthcare services.
To promote the development of 'evidence-based' Chinese medicine practice and to enhance training opportunities for local Chinese medicine graduates, the Hospital Authority has opened five new Chinese medicine outpatient clinics in 2006, increasing the total number of Chinese medicine outpatient clinics from three to eight.
In 2006, a subvention of $32.4 million was provided for the clinics. A total of 25 793 patients made an aggregate of 132 062 visits to the eight clinics and 37 graduates were newly recruited.
The majority in the community seek outpatient services from the private sector, provided by around 6 000 medical practitioners in private practice and 165 clinics. registered under the Medical Clinics Ordinance. Services from 5 268 registered, 68 limited registered and 2 897 listed Chinese medicine practitioners in private practice are also available.
It has been estimated that there are about 27 million and 6 million outpatient attendances at western private practitioners' clinics and Chinese medicine private practitioners' clinics respectively each year. These services are generally affordable to the majority of the population.
Family Health
Apart from general outpatient services, the public sector provides specialised services targeted at citizens of particular age groups or medical conditions.
For children up to five years of age, and women aged 64 or below, the Department of Health provides a comprehensive range of health promotion and disease prevention services through its 31 maternal and child health centres and three woman health centres. At the centres, anticipatory guidance on child care and parenting is provided for parents and care-givers. Immunisation, health and developmental surveillance services are offered to children. Antenatal, postnatal, family planning, cervical screening services and health education are provided for women. Some 24 000 expectant mothers and 57 000 newborns attended maternal
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.