Attributes of Hong Kong Health Care System
Introduction
Hong Kong is considered to be one of the most advanced and successful cities in Asia today. Almost in all attributes, Hong Kong serves to be one of the most regarded cities having the best services, information, and the latest technologies, being termed as “Asia Pacific’s Information Gateway and Hub” ( 2002). This has prompted Hong Kong to be one of the Asian cities having the latest advancements, not only in products and services, but in fashion, latest gadgets, and technologies as well. In this regard, with the use of the latest technologies in Hong Kong, it can be perceived that the latest technologies and health care can also be observed and rendered by the medical and healthcare systems of Hong Kong. As such, this essay discusses and evaluates the different attributes or characteristics of Hong Kong’s healthcare system in relation to its costs, services, efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, the different problems of Hong Kong’s healthcare system would also be mentioned and discussed to further provide a comprehensive analysis.
Healthcare System of Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s healthcare system is divided into the public and the private sectors. Differentiating both healthcare systems would be essential in determining the different attributes of the healthcare system of Hong Kong in general. Based on the report of (2005), Hong Kong’s health care system is comprised of the public and private health sectors, where the public healthcare system is composed of the health, welfare and food bureau. The funding sources of the public healthcare system come from the general revenue of the government, with increasing personal revenues from fees. The public healthcare system is being supported and provided for by the hospital authorities in Hong Kong, and the Department of Health and Center for Health Protection in Hong Kong. It then serves and provides services to the general population, and to consumers covered under the authority of the hospitals. Among the population, the total market share of the public healthcare system in terms of inpatient consumers is 90 to 95%, while 30% only on outpatient consumers. On the other hand, the funding sources of the private sector come from both its employers and from the individual consumers. The private sector is provided for by private insurers or HMOs and by some private providers or stockholders of hospitals and private medical societies and groups. Being more expensive, the private sector serves and provides services to consumers belonging to the middle and upper classes of the society, with the exception for Chinese medicine use. As such, the market share of the private sector in terms of inpatient consumers is only 5 to 10%, while it serves 70% of the outpatient consumers of the total population (2005).
In this regard, it can be observed that significant differences in the private and public healthcare systems of Hong Kong can be seen, in terms of funding or finances, providers, consumers, and market share. As such, it can be assumed that unequal costs, differences in healthcare services due to medical and healthcare expertise of medical professionals, and socio-economic status of consumers are made basis for rendering service and seeking medical help. In addition, the problems and negative impacts of this form of healthcare structure have been emphasized during the past decades, as many Hong Kong citizens have become increasingly displeased and unhappy with the differences in services rendered by both its public and private health sectors. The lack of medical training on the part of physicians on both private and public sectors can be observed, selling drugs and medicines directly to patients, causing additional costs, and limitations in providing medical information on certain issues were observed to be the problems included in the process ( 2000). However, due to the increasing dissatisfaction of many Hong Kong citizens, the government of Hong Kong decided to review, assess and improve its healthcare financing and delivery system in the public sector, to equalize the costs and services in both healthcare systems. In addition to such reforms, the government also commissioned the improvement of the medical and healthcare training and knowledge of many medical professionals in the city. Such endeavors resulted to a number of benefits and improvements in Hong Kong’s healthcare system, including equal access to healthcare services regardless of financial status, easy access to healthcare providers through short travel times, improvement of technical and personal quality of healthcare services, implementations of regulations and policies for licensing on both sectors, continuous education for medical professionals, certification of traditional Chinese medical practitioners, and founding of customer service and complaint systems (2004). Such results and attributes can be observed and proven in the current healthcare system of Hong Kong.
Aside from the highly recommended medical services of hospitals and healthcare institutions in the United States and Europe, the medical and healthcare services in Hong Kong would not be set apart. Treatment and curative services in the city have three divisions, namely, the primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare, with the support of traditional Chinese medicines and treatment. Public and private hospitals provide such healthcare services, having good reputations both in the city and in other countries. Among the highly recommended hospitals in Hong Kong, include St. John’s and Ruttonjee in Hong Kong Island, Caritas and Tai Po Hospital in the New Territories, and Queen Mary and Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital in Kowloon (2007). In addition, 600 Western and Chinese medical centers and institutions can be seen, 44 dental and physiotherapy centers, and 9 elderly-care homes can be found (2007). Such hospitals and healthcare service providers offer the latest technology in medicine and healthcare. The use of latest technology in Hong Kong offers treatment a number of medical fields, such as endoscopy and echocardiography, pathology, orthopaedic, and minimal invasive surgery in the heart and gut. Among the latest gadgets used in Hong Kong hospitals, include the Fingertip Pulse Oximeter, which is used to test the client’s blood-oxygen saturation levels and pulse rate, and the Endoscopic Ultrasonography (EUS) gadget, which can detect cancer at an early age in order to avail of earlier treatment (Li and Chan 2007). Along with the advanced and latest technologies utilized in Hong Kong is the high quality and standard of healthcare service provided by the city’s medical and healthcare practitioners and professionals. Most of the medical and healthcare practitioners and professionals are educated in the top universities in Hong Kong, United States, Australia, and Europe, thus, finding the best and quality healthcare service a client can find in other Western countries. A number of specialized services are being offered in the different hospitals in Hong Kong, which are not offered in other hospitals in Asia, thus, catering to the sensitive needs of clients in the region. However, the only setback in this attribute is that Western-trained doctors and medical practitioners cost double, and may be a primary problem for many clients (2004). Such quality and standard of services are being accompanied by the prescription of strong and the latest medicines, such as antibiotics and other drugs, being distributed in the region, directly from Western drug and medicine manufacturers. However, another problem can be determined in this case, as antibiotics and high dosages of medicines are already prescribed to minor colds and ailments to achieve quick remedies. This must not be the case, as administering strong medicines right away may result to complications and side effects on the part of the client. The quality and standard of healthcare services of medical practitioners in Hong Kong are being strengthened through continuous improvement, and Research & Development in laboratories and research institutions.
Another characteristic of the healthcare system of Hong Kong is the increase in the number of health insurance providers. One of the largest private healthcare service providers in Hong Kong is the Quality Healthcare Asia, with the support of other healthcare service providers, such as Raffles Medical Group, American International Assurance, Manulife of Canada, BUPA of the UK, and HSBC (2007). The last attribute of the healthcare system of Hong Kong that serves to be its edge in other healthcare systems is the complete and definite support of its government on the prevention, dissipation of knowledge and promotion of healthcare in the general population through research funds and institutions. Hong Kong’s Department of Health (DH) and Hospital Authority (HA) lead this endeavor, with the support of Health and Health Services Research Fund (HHSRF), Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (RFCID), and Health Care and Promotion Fund (HCPF) (2007).
Conclusion
The healthcare system of Hong Kong serves to be of high standard and quality, and nearly comparable with the healthcare systems of other Western countries. The different attributes determined and described in this paper prove that although Asian countries are regarded by Western countries to be delayed in terms of improvement and development, the improvements in the healthcare system of Hong Kong are considered living proofs that Asians can also excel and match the standards of Western hospitals and medical practitioners. In this regard, such attributes of the healthcare system of Hong Kong may be considered Asia’s edge and pride, and thus the commencement of continuous improvement and development not only in the medical field, but also in other aspects, such as the economy, politics and society.
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