Hong Kong dermatologist gets suspended punishment for clinic adverts on RedNote
Medical Council says Dr Tinny Ho to be struck off practitioners’ register for six months if she fails to complete three-year suspended sentence
A Hong Kong dermatologist has received a suspended punishment after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Medical Council for failing to prevent improper advertising on the mainland Chinese social media platform RedNote.
The medical watchdog said on Monday that Dr Tinny Ho Tin-yee could be struck off the practitioners’ register for six months if she failed to complete the three-year probationary period without incident.
She was convicted of sanctioning, acquiescing to, or failing to take any or adequate steps to prevent the publication of promotional statements or information on the RedNote account for Skincentral Dermatology Clinic.
According to the council’s Code of Professional Conduct, doctors are not allowed to provide information for the commercial promotion of medical and health-related products and services, or information that is sensational and unduly persuasive, or that could generate unrealistic expectations.
Promoting the professional services of a doctor is also prohibited, and failure to prevent such publicity also constitutes a violation.
The case came to light after the council received a complaint in November 2023 containing screenshots of social media posts written in simplified Chinese.