If this trend sounds like a temporary release valve for a stressed system, think again. What we’re seeing isn’t a convenient side option; it’s an unofficial outsourcing of healthcare. Left unchecked, it may well hollow out the very system we’ve spent decades building.
Of course, private hospitals offer another route, if you’ve got the wallet for it. For many families, the price tag makes private treatment feel less like healthcare and more like luxury retail.
It’s little wonder Hongkongers are looking across the border. There, appointments are quicker. Prices are clearer. Even the apps are better. The booking experience in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, often feels more like ordering dinner on a delivery app than scheduling an MRI. Convenience matters. Right now, we’re losing that game.
But while Shenzhen may offer swifter consultation, relying on it is hardly a long-term solution. If enough patients and eventually professionals start drifting north, Hong Kong will lose its healthcare market share as well as its capacity to develop future talent, run clinical trials and innovate in medicine.
