16-Oct-15 Hong Kong's Hospital Authority has narrowly averted a specialist doctor manpower crisis by raising their retirement age from 60 to 65. Under a scheme costing HKD570 mn (USD74 mn), 60 out of 100 doctors who were to retire this year will continue their service. Serving 90% of patients with only 40% of doctors, Hong Kong's public hospitals are chronically understaffed. [image: SCMP]

09-Oct-15 Many treatments, including Herceptin and Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi for hepatitis C, are either unavailable or more expensive in China than elsewhere. Aside from the lower price, visitors to Hong Kong from the mainland also prefer to buy their medicine there because they believe it is less likely to be counterfeit. [image: Bloomberg Business]

31-Aug-15 Patients in Hong Kong wait far longer to gain access to innovative medicine than in many other locations because regulations are based on old, rigid protocols. It takes around 18 to 24 months for the authorities to recognise a new drug, while the same medicine can be approved in just 60 days in Singapore. [image: Henry Wong]

13-Aug-15 With a view to further expanding its pan-Asia presence, Singapore's Fullerton Healthcare recently inked a deal to acquire a majority stake in HMMP Limited, a medical network based in Hong Kong. The acquisition will help Fullerton in its mission to transform healthcare standards across Asia, and make it more accessible and affordable, the company said. [image: Fullerton Healthcare]

17-Jul-15 Hong Kong's government will pump HK$1.17 bn (USD150 mn) into the Hospital Authority in the next three years to implement proposals aimed at shortening waiting times and improving funding allocation to three hospital clusters. [image: The Standard]