The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is considering introducing more non-medical-industry assessors to the medical complaints-handling process to strengthen effectiveness and regulation.
The authorities also intend to increase the share of lay members of the Medical Council of Hong Kong — a body overseeing the city’s doctor registration, disciplinary proceedings, professional examinations, medical training accreditation, and complaints against registered doctors — to reflect different social perspectives and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration.
These measures are included in an amendment to the Medical Registration Ordinance, which was gazetted on Friday and will be submitted to the Legislative Council for the first reading on July 8.
Secretary for Health Bureau Lo Chung-mau said the reforms are intended to enhance the overall governance capacity of medical supervision by optimizing the system design while improving the operational efficiency of the system based on maintaining professional autonomy.
He said the Medical Council plays an important role in safeguarding professional standards and maintaining public confidence in the healthcare system.
In addition, to strengthen public protection, the reforms will introduce provisions to allow for the immediate suspension of a doctor’s registration if he or she has been convicted of specified serious criminal offences.
Zeng Ziwen contributed to the story.