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Health

Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts (DHA)1 show total health expenditure increased from 3.6 per cent to 6.0 per cent of Gross Domestic Product from 1989-90 to 2014-15. Over the same period, public health spending ($68.8 billion in 2014-15, or 3.0 per cent of GDP) rose from 40 per cent to 50 per cent of total health expenditure. The government's recurrent funding for health has risen substantially over the past five years, from $46.2 billion in 2012 to $61.9 billion by 2017, registering an increase of about $15.7 billion, or 34 per cent. Recurrent expenditure on health accounted for 17 per cent of the government's recurrent expenditure in 2017.

On a year-on-year basis, the government's recurrent funding for health in 2017 grew about $4.6 billion from $57.3 billion in 2016, registering an increase of more than 8 per cent.

Healthcare Reform

In response to the challenges of an ageing population, the government is undertaking a number of initiatives to enhance the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system:

• Private insurance - The bureau published a consultation report on the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme in January 2017 and is preparing to implement the scheme in 2018 so as to protect consumers better and encourage more people to use private health services.

• Manpower planning and professional development - The Report of the Strategic Review of Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development was published in June, setting out 10 recommendations with a view to planning ahead for long-term manpower demand and fostering professional development.

Development of private services - The Private Healthcare Facilities Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council in June for scrutiny to revamp the regulatory regime for private healthcare facilities.

Primary Care Services

Primary care is the first step in the healthcare process. It covers a wide range of public services, including health promotion and disease prevention, general outpatient services and special health services for people in specific age groups who do not require immediate hospital attention.

Primary care services are provided mainly by the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). On average, private Western clinics handle about 30 million outpatient visits each year. NGOs operate community clinics, and many also organise health promotion, educational and related activities. Some NGOs provide health assessments for the elderly and medical check-ups for women.

1

A series of accounts compiled over the years in accordance with the International Classification for Health Accounts Framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to keep track of Hong Kong's health spending and to allow for international comparison.

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