The Hospital Authority has set new guidelines to unify charges in public hospitals offering private patient services. They will be effective from September.
Public hospitals, particularly Queen Mary Hospital in cooperation with the medical school of the University of Hong Kong, and Prince of Wales Hospital with Chinese University, have long been criticized for applying different charges to private patients for similar services.
Under the new guidelines, charges will be classified in four levels depending on the complexity of the disease, the treatment and possible complications. Specialist doctors will make the judgment based on the guidelines and the patient's condition. The charges will also vary with the ranking of the doctors responsible. The Hospital Authority says hospitalization for private patients will cost from HK$680 to HK$2,780 per night.
Charges for services at outpatient clinics will follow the same mechanism. Consultation fees for new cases will range from HK$680 to HK$2,160, and follow-up sessions from HK$555 to HKS$1,850.
The authority and the two medical schools also reached an agreement on how to split the account. The universities will take 75 percent of the income generated by consultation and medical procedures while the authority will take 25 percent.
The share will be opposite for income from support services such as lab examinations and scans, with the authority taking 75 percent and the universities 25 percent.
"There will not be any extra income for the Hospital Authority doctors offering private patient services as the money will be spent on the operation of the hospital, including the purchase on machines and reference books," a Hospital Authority spokesman said.
Doctors providing such services in public hospitals have to be specialists registered with the Medical Council, recommended by the department head and approved by the hospital chief executive.
The Food and Health Bureau said an annual review will be conducted of the list of approved doctors. The guideline follows an Ombudsman's suggestion last year after two complaints about the low transparency of the Hospital Authority's pricing system for private patients. One of the complainants was charged more than HK$2,000 for a blood test.
Source: The Standard