Hong Kong public hospitals will offer flexibility when charging patients at accident and emergency (A&E) departments to smooth the transition to new healthcare payment arrangements from January 1.
The Hospital Authority said on Tuesday that people who leave public hospital emergency departments before receiving a consultation will need to pay HK$50 (US$7) for triage and nursing procedures of the adjusted HK$400 charge starting next month. However, they can apply for an 87.5 per cent refund of the amount.
The authority’s infection, emergency and contingency chief manager Eddie Yuen Cheuk-pun said hospitals would deploy extra staff on December 31 and January 1 to handle possible scenarios, such as an increased number of patients and last-minute arrivals before the new charges come into effect.
“We certainly understand that some patients may not be able to arrive on time, or they are arriving in the vicinity. We will handle them flexibly,” he said.
Yuen said that flexibility could be offered to patients registered after midnight due to longer registration times, as well as those arriving within the first few minutes of January 1.
Under the new policy, only patients classified as critical or emergency will receive free treatment. Those deemed urgent, semi-urgent or non-urgent will be charged HK$400, compared with the current HK$180 fee.
