The city’s regulations for clinics and specific beauty salons are expected to enhance confidence in private medical services and potentially boost patient safety.
Patient safety continues to be the top priority for both Hong Kong’s public and private healthcare systems, with the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance ensuring this principle outside the public sector. Current regulations already apply to private hospitals and outpatient centers. Now, the city’s 5,000 clinics, including beauty salons offering injections to clients, will face new rules.fall under a licensing system. It’s about time.
The updated system, primarily aimed at clinics within chains, indicates a shift in their operations that prioritizes patient safety.
Health officials mention that certain clinics are managed by individuals without proper healthcare training and insufficient medical understanding, with the doctors they employ having no influence over operations. “We aim to regulate such clinics to improve patient safety,” stated Dr. Darwin Mak Wai-lai, head of the Department of Health’s Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities.
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The changes in licensing were partially driven by negative medical events caused by insufficient oversight of beauty clinics providing medical treatments. These incidents were linked to the lack of proper training among staff or unsafe environments. The death of a 46-year-old woman in 2012 following high-risk experimental cell therapy injections at a beauty clinic led to demands for stricter regulations.
Mak mentioned that approximately 1,500 clinics would need to submit an application for a full license. A physician or dentist would be required to take full responsibility for daily operations and ensure adherence to a code of conduct, including infection control and reporting of safety incidents. The other 3,500 clinics qualify for exemption from licensing as they are managed solely by registered doctors or dentists, provided they follow the code of practice and are supervised by statutory authorities, which also manage complaints. In the future, beauty salons offering injections must have a doctor overseeing the operations.
The updated regulatory framework might appear intricate and formal, considering Hong Kong’s easy-to-access and highly regarded healthcare system. However, ensuring public trust in the private healthcare sector is essential, as it needs to take on some of the responsibilities from the public sector.
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This piece was first published in the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), a top news outlet covering China and Asia.
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