Public hospitals
Public hospitals are quasi-government organizations established and operated by the Hong Kong government, but are not government departments. Public hospitals in Hong Kong provide inexpensive, quality and comprehensive medical services to those in need, such as general medical services, specialized medical services, and injections and dressings. Although visitors to Hong Kong pay more for public medical services than local residents, they are also cheaper than those in private hospitals, ranging from about $200.
Private hospitals
Private hospitals are privatized hospitals that aim to provide high-quality, personalized care, with doctors who care more about their patients, and a more comfortable and friendly environment. On the other hand, private hospitals are more expensive than public hospitals, and charges are based on the patient's condition and needs. The fees for general medicine range from $300 to over $400, which is more than twice the cost of public hospitals.
Private clinics
In addition to large public and private hospitals, there are many small private clinics in Hong Kong that provide simple internal medicine and immunization services. Fees are more expensive than public hospitals, but less expensive than private hospitals, at around $100 for a general consultation, depending on the amount of medication. Similarly, private clinics have the advantages of private hospitals. But the downside is that most private clinics are run by a single doctor and are not equipped to provide the complex diagnostic and treatment services that would require referral to a major hospital for follow-up.
A&E services
The A&E departments of the 15 public hospitals under the Hospital Authority provide consultation and treatment to patients in need of emergency services. To ensure that members of the public with urgent needs are provided with timely emergency services when they visit the A&E Departments, a triage system has been put in place in all A&E Departments. Patients are categorized according to their need for critical, emergency, urgent, sub-urgent and non-urgent treatment upon registration. The A&E Departments provide 24-hour service to ensure that travelers and members of the public are provided with comprehensive medical services. Charges for A&E services are $570, which is more expensive than general outpatient services.
Hospitalization and surgery
Public hospitals offer cheaper services in this area, with a daily hospitalization fee of HK$3,300. For surgeries, it is difficult to determine the charges as they depend on the size of the operation.
Private hospitals offer more expensive in-patient services, costing thousands of Hong Kong dollars per day plus over $10,000 in deposits, but in a much better environment than public hospitals. Similarly, charges for surgery are also determined by the size of the operation and are difficult to ascertain.
24-hour emergency assistance
The Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Brigade provides a free 24-hour ambulance service. Ten ambulances are stationed at three ambulance depots, ready to respond to emergency calls from the public and tourists on Hong Kong Island (hotline: 2576 6555), Kowloon (hotline: 2713 5555) and the New Territories (hotline: 2639 2555). The Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) has an ambulance stationed at its headquarters in Ho Man Tin, which is on standby 24 hours a day. It will be dispatched to the scene upon receipt of an emergency call from the Fire Services Department's Communication Center. The familiar 999 hotline is also available 24 hours a day to assist members of the public and tourists who need help with crime, fire or medical treatment.
Hong Kong's health care to compare with that of the mainland is in fact a question of medical philosophy. The philosophy of Hong Kong's public hospitals is to ensure that low-income and disadvantaged groups are able to afford to see a doctor, and such a philosophy, I think, is also the goal of the mainland government. The key is, how to do this.
Hong Kong's public hospitals, which are under the unified management of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, are public organizations of the Government, and doctors in public hospitals are in fact civil servants. Precisely because they are civil servants, there is no question of receiving red packets in public hospitals, as this is a form of bribery. The income of civil servants in Hong Kong, though comparable to that of the private sector, may be lower in some sectors, and this is the case with doctors. The entry point for a doctor in a public hospital used to be $50,000 per month, but now it is $35,000. It may seem that such a salary is very high in the Mainland, but if we compare it with their counterparts in private hospitals, the income of doctors in public hospitals is lower and their workload is much higher. However, because public hospitals have an iron bowl, and because they can absorb more clinical experience, they still attract many talents to stay. Because it is the unified management of the Hospital Authority, so each hospital's equipment, the purchase of drugs, there is a unified supervision and management, as well as financial allocation.