Hong Kong residents are increasingly seeking healthcare on the Chinese mainland, but information gaps and the high costs due to the lack of insurance coverage remain key deterrents, a study revealed on Wednesday.

Measures to create a dedicated information platform and policy levers to ease cross-boundary health insurance access are among the most urgent needs, experts said.

The study, carried out by an interdisciplinary team led by the University of Hong Kong (HKU),  surveyed 3,500 Hong Kong residents in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and conducted 200 interviews with hospital and government authorities.

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They shed light on how an emerging cross-boundary healthcare system has shaped Hong Kong residents’ mobility and well-being in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

According to the poll, Hong Kong residents’ mainland healthcare usage stood at a mere 5.9 percent prior to 2011, but it surged to 33.5 percent between 2011 and 2019, and to 60 percent from 2019 to 2023. Concurrently, where fewer than 50 percent said they were satisfied before 2011, roughly 75 percent of recent healthcare users now said they’re  “satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Anne Lee Wing-mui, deputy chief executive and chief of service at HKU-Shenzhen Hospital, said Hong Kong patients now make up 17 percent of the hospital’s caseload, calling it a “steady increase,” with satisfaction rates nudging to 90 percent.

Shorter waiting times have emerged as the strongest satisfaction point among users. Lee said HKU-Shenzhen Hospital has been actively managing scheduling for Hong Kong patients, including dedicated weekend clinics, to cut waiting time.

Yet, information barriers persist as many of the respondents have limited knowledge of mainland hospitals’ tiers, insurance policies and fee structures. The main worries cited by still non-users include unfamiliarity with treatment procedures, costs and physicians’ qualifications.

Responding to the growing cross-boundary healthcare demand, HKU’s Department of Urban Planning and Design plans to launch a “Healthy GBA” digital platform on Oct 1, offering Hong Kong residents one-stop access to hospital information, patient guides, medical subsidies, and insurance purchase and reimbursement rules in the Greater Bay Area cities, according to the department’s head, He Shenjing.

The platform’s pilot phase will initially cover major hospitals in Shenzhen, such as HKU-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen People’s Hospital and Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, and will be gradually expanded to medical institutions in other Greater Bay Area cities.

To tackle cost concerns, experts have called for a wider uptake of the mainland’s social insurances and cross-boundary commercial packages, especially those providing on-site settlement, among Hong Kong residents.

He said only a few Hong Kong residents have taken out mainland medical insurance, adding that some living in Guangzhou for more than a decade had never considered enrolling until the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

If those challenges can be addressed in the long term, she said this would boost Hong Kong elderly’s interest in retiring on the mainland, driving up the overall momentum for the Greater Bay Area’s integration in retirement, employment, education and tourism.

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Policy coordination, resource allocation, and information platform building require incremental refinement, not just overnight solutions, said Anthony Yeh Gar-on, DUPAD’s chair professor.

The study essentially outlines a roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders’ reference. “Only when needs are clearly identified, gaps can be effectively bridged,” Yeh said.

The study also highlights the Greater Bay Area’s high-quality medical resources as a solid foundation for medical tourism, backing moves to streamline reciprocal medical resource flows, develop stratified cross-boundary services, and tap Hong Kong’s robust global links to capture revenue from international patients.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com