Hong Kong Medical and Health Council: Hong Kong actively implements the Greater Bay Area's integrated development strategy to promote cross-border medical cooperation and innovation

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 10, the Secretary for Health Services and Health of Hong Kong, Professor Lo Chung-mao, said at the Legislative Council Health Committee meeting that in the past few years, the HKSAR Government has actively implemented the country's strategy to promote the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) on the premise of adhering to the health care development of Hong Kong and the Mainland. With the support of various ministries and departments and the cooperation of various provinces and cities, the Hong Kong University Shenzhen Hospital (HKU Shenzhen Hospital) has been an iconic testing platform to promote the implementation of a number of important cross-border medical cooperation measures.

According to Lo Chung-mao, in 2024, the Hong Kong Government will implement the “Greater Bay Area Pilot Program for the Elderly” to expand the scope of application of medical vouchers for the elderly from the Hong Kong University Shenzhen Hospital to 7 comprehensive medical/dental service institutions located in the Greater Bay Area, and add 12 new medical institutions in 2025 to cover all nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Along with the first hospital and two branches of the HKU Shenzhen Hospital, eligible elderly people can choose to use medical vouchers at a total of 21 service points in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Up to now, in addition to the HKU Shenzhen Hospital, more than 40,600 eligible elderly people have used medical vouchers to pay for outpatient medical care services under the “pilot scheme”, involving about 101,000 transactions and a total transaction amount of approximately HK$103.28 million.

In 2023, the Hong Kong Government launched the “Pilot Program to Support Patients of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hospital Authority”, which aims to allow eligible patients of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority in Guangdong Province to choose to receive subsidized consultation services at HKU Shenzhen Hospital. In total, more than 6,100 patients have participated in the pilot program, with 27,000 consultations.

With the support of various national ministries and departments, the HKSAR Government, together with the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments, and the Macao SAR Government fully launched a trial plan to transport patients from designated hospitals in Shenzhen, Macau, Zhuhai and Nansha to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong in November 2025, and implemented two-way transit arrangements with Shenzhen, Macau and Zhuhai in March of this year. So far, 29 patients have benefited from the pilot scheme.

In July 2024, the Hong Kong Government gradually implemented the “Cross-border Health Record” and “Personal Data Folder” functions of the eHealth Connect mobile app at a total of 20 medical institutions under the HKU Shenzhen Hospital and the “Greater Bay Area Pilot Program”. Since December of last year, the “Cross-border Health Record” function has been extended to 7.5 million citizens across Hong Kong, and since January 27 this year, the “personal data folder” function has been upgraded. The public can authorize three designated Greater Bay Area medical institutions to directly deposit high-resolution radiology images and reports into their eHealth “personal data folder” to enable cross-border medical record circulation and improve medical quality and safety.

Lu Chongmao said that the country has introduced the “Hong Kong and Macau Drug Connect” policy to provide patients throughout the Greater Bay Area with more advanced pharmaceutical devices for diagnosis and treatment. As of April 30, 2026, 71 drugs and 91 medical devices already marketed and used in Hong Kong and Macau have been approved for use in 71 designated medical institutions in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong will further develop its institutional advantages, establish a drug and medical device supervision and administration center and implement a more proactive drug approval and registration mechanism, and introduce more innovative pharmaceutical devices to the Greater Bay Area.

Furthermore, Hong Kong and mainland hospital assessment experts have teamed up to develop a set of “International Hospital Assessment and Certification Standards (China)” (2021 edition), which integrates international and national standards, using the top three evaluation standards for national hospitals as a basis, making it the first hospital assessment and certification system in the country to pass the certification of the International Healthcare Quality Association. Since 2023, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority has adopted the “International Standards” to restart the hospital certification scheme. Five public hospitals have successfully passed certification, and the certification scheme will be rolled out to 2 other major emergency hospitals from 2026 to 27, so that the relevant plan covers all networks in Hong Kong.

Lo Chung-mau pointed out that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is preparing Hong Kong's first five-year plan at full speed to fully connect with the country's “15th Five-Year Plan.” In terms of health care, Hong Kong will cooperate with the country to speed up the construction of a “healthy China” and implement a strategic plan to prioritize healthy development to build a “healthy Hong Kong.” Promoting innovation in cross-border medical cooperation will not only help Hong Kong integrate into the “Health Bay Area”, but also make full use of Hong Kong's international high level of medical care, help bring national medical standards to the world, and highlight Hong Kong's unique advantages and values in integrating and serving the country's overall development.