Hong Kong’s first Chinese Medicine Hospital (CMHHK) began phased operations on Thursday, offering outpatient, day-patient and clinical support services under a hybrid model of subsidized and private care in its inaugural year.
Located on Pak Shing Kok Road in Tseung Kwan O, the hospital operates through a public-private partnership. It is fully government-owned and funded, but managed by Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine Hospital Company Limited.
With 65 percent of its services subsidized and 35 percent market-oriented, CMHHK currently provides general and specialist outpatient consultations, day-patient care and allied health support including occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
The hospital has opened with 25 beds — 16 subsidized and nine private — ahead of launching inpatient services next December. It targets expanding to 400 beds by late 2030.
Private patients are able to choose their preferred practitioners. Deputy Hospital Chief Executive (Chinese Medicine) Cheung Chun-hoi said the hospital is collaborating with local medical schools and mainland CM hospitals to broaden practitioner availability.
The hospital includes 70 consultation rooms and 45 intervention rooms designed for acupuncture, moxibustion, fumigation and herbal baths.
For patients requiring complex treatment such as stroke recovery or pain management, day-patient services will provide multidisciplinary care, integrating Chinese and Western medical consultations with CM therapies and allied health support.
“Unlike in the past, when patients had to visit multiple clinics for different treatments, our day wards now provide a one-stop solution with follow-ups within four hours, ensuring a seamless experience and addressing caregivers’ needs,” Cheung said.
He emphasized that Chinese medicine plays a leading role in the hospital, while collaboration with Western medicine is promoted through a two-practitioner model drawn from mainland experience.
“The difference is that while mainland physicians can hold dual qualifications in CM and WM, Hong Kong requires separate practice. Therefore, the hospital aims to foster communication and mutual trust between two practitioners, creating a successful model for the rest of the world,” he said.
CMHHK houses both Chinese medicine and Western medicine pharmacies. Chief Chinese Medicine pharmacist Jeffrey Leung said the CM pharmacy stocks around 600 herbal types available in both traditional slices and granule form. The herbs are stored in smart medicine cabinets equipped with e-ink labels and QR codes that allow traceability of batch numbers, transportation records and production quality reports.
