Opinion | Hong Kong has been uniquely unable to fix its doctor shortage. Why?
- Hong Kong can no longer rely on only a licensing exam to screen foreign-trained doctors and boost the supply
- Examples of other economies with more flexible medical registration systems are worth considering
According to the most recent health care manpower projections released by the government, the shortage is worse than three years ago.
While such a situation is not unique to Hong Kong, the city is unique in adopting relatively passive measures when it comes to attracting qualified doctors from around the world to fill the gap.
In contrast to Singapore, Britain and Australia, Hong Kong has required non-locally-trained doctors to pass a local licensing exam before they can register as medical practitioners, since the exam exemption for doctors trained in recognised Commonwealth countries was scrapped in September 1996.
This has resulted in a startling trend. From 2016 to 2020, non-locally-trained doctors accounted for about 11 per cent of newly registered doctors in Hong Kong, far lower than the average 56 per cent in Hong Kong recorded between 1992 and 1996.
Overall, non-locally trained doctors who work under full or limited registration make up about 10 per cent of Hong Kong’s doctor supply. If we include those foreign-trained doctors who benefited from the exam-free entry before 1996, their share comes to about 25 per cent. In contrast, the share of foreign-trained doctors in Singapore, Britain and Australia ranges from 30 per cent up to 40 per cent.
