University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen hospital set for pricing revamp
New head Lo Chung-mau says financially troubled institution will offer more treatment packages and should start paying off its debts from 2018
The financially troubled hospital in Shenzhen run by the University of Hong Kong is set for an overhaul of its pricing policy by offering more treatment packages, the newly appointed hospital chief said in an interview with the Post.
“I hope the [Shenzhen] hospital can build up trust between patients and medical staff. If the patients know doctors are not looking for money when they treat illnesses, trust can be built,” Lo said as he explained his hopes for the Shenzhen hospital.
If the patients know doctors are not looking for money when they treat illnesses, trust can be built
Under his plan, the medical packages on offer would increase significantly from the current 10 surgical procedures to 50.
Lo said the mainland pricing culture had led to poor health care practices which damaged patients’ trust in doctors.
Self-financed mainland hospitals often come with much unnecessary treatment and medication such as antibiotics or intravenous injections given the unreasonably low prices for individual items.
The introduction of price packages at the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital would not only give greater assurance to patients but also improve the hospital’s finances, he said.
For example, the hospital is offering surgery to remove a gall bladder at a package rate of 11,000 yuan (HK$12,580), meaning everything including care for complications is covered. It is up on the previous charge of 8,000 yuan, but still lower than the average 12,000 to 15,000 yuan in other Shenzhen hospitals.