Hong Kong public hospital staff raise patient conflict concerns over fee reform
Veteran doctor, meanwhile, brushes off fears about any difficulty identifying ‘critical’ and ‘emergency’ cases for free treatment
Under the reform announced by authorities on Tuesday, a two-tier fee structure will be implemented at accident and emergency (A&E) departments, depending on how urgent patients’ conditions are under a five-level triage system, rather than a standard rate of HK$180 (US$23).
Patients triaged in the top two categories – “critical” and “emergency” – will be treated for free. The rest – “urgent”, “semi-urgent” and “non-urgent” patients – will have to pay HK$400 per visit.
A public hospital doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, expressed concerns on Thursday that frontline staff could end up stuck in the middle of conflicts over the increased fees.
“There will be people complaining about why they are being categorised as tier three [urgent] cases instead of tier two [emergency cases],” the doctor said. “Requests for ‘appeals’ for sure would multiply.”
While the reform will introduce separate charges for tests and imaging services, which are currently covered by authorities, the insider said that doctors might struggle to arrange tests, adding that patients might feel conflicted about getting such services because of the extra fees.