Hong Kong's Health System

Having experienced benign neglect and inertia since the last major set of reforms when all public and subvented hospitals were corporatised in the early 1990s, Hong Kong’s health system now faces another round of consultation about reform. This book provides a significant contribution to the discussions about the future of the system. The evidence-driven content draws from the deep expertise and experience of a wide spectrum of contributors, who represent virtually all relevant areas of the health system. Their multidisciplinary input, based on moral philosophy, political economy, macro-financing, health services research, business strategy and patients’ experience, reveals areas that require urgent attention and focuses on the issues that matter most if Hong Kong is to achieve better population health through the health system. This book meets the critical need of students, academics, health care professionals, government officials, politicians, and the general public who have been struggling with how best to approach and understand the context and need for change. This book is a project of the Medical and Health Research Network, The University of Hong Kong. The Network, a University-wide multidisciplinary think tank, was established in 1999 in response to the release of the Harvard Report. Its research core members are academics in the fields of clinical medicine and nursing, public health, social work, statistics and actuarial science, economics and finance. It further draws from the wider policy and practice communities in its education, training and advocacy activities. Its mission is to collect, analyse, synthesise and disseminate evidence related to health, long-term and social care in Hong Kong and East Asia.