Health Care

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)  is a combination of herbal treatment, massage, and acupuncture which seeks to restore the body to its normal state of homeostasis during an illness.

The goal of Hong Kong’s health care system is to offer quality and equal health care to all people regardless of their economic situation. Hong Kong relies on a combination of Public and Private health insurance schemes to cover its citizens. The government covers the majority of inpatient costs as well as most of outpatient costs. However, there are often extra costs that are not covered by public insurance, and this is why many people also decide to purchase private insurance schemes.

The majority of hospitals in Hong Kong are public and are covered by public health insurance plans. In addition to these hospitals there are several private hospitals, as well as several not-for-profit hospitals. Private hospitals may be a little more expensive than the large public ones, but they often offer a better choice when it comes to doctors.

In addition to western medicine, many people in Hong Kong still practice Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In fact, TCM practitioner visits make up about 43 percent of all medical consultations. TCM is a combination of herbal treatment, massage, and acupuncture which seeks to restore the body to its normal state of homeostasis during an illness. It is most commonly used at the same time as western medicine; western medicine is used to alleviate symptoms while TCM is used to restore the body to health.