When you walk into Henry Chan Hin-lee's clinic, you will find something pretty special. It is not an expensive piece of state-of-the-art medical equipment or some magical wonderdrug - just an ordinary plastic folder on a magazine rack in the waiting room. It reads: Learn about Your Doctor.
Open it, and you will find the dermatologist's curriculum vitae, his work experience and a list of his research articles published in medical journals. Such 'basic' information, as Dr Chan puts it, is rarely, if at all, available to patients in other clinics in Hong Kong.
Dr Chan said he was 'extremely careful' when preparing the information, and had to make sure the folder did not leave the clinic.
His worries are well justified.
For a long time, Hong Kong patients had great difficulty learning more about their doctors' qualifications.
That is because, according to the profession's code of conduct, doctors are banned from services promotion. Any breaches and doctors face disciplinary action by the Medical Council. The consequence could simply be a warning letter, or it could be as harsh as deregistration.
Under these strict rules, doctors can publicise very limited information - name, gender, approved qualifications, clinic address, consultation hours and specialities - on signboards, stationery, telephone directories and internet home pages.