Motion on “Stepping up efforts in combating illegal medical practices to safeguard public health”
Deputy President, I am very grateful to Prof CHAN Wing-kwong for proposing this motion. I am also pleased to see that the Chief Executive has mentioned strengthening professional regulation of healthcare services in his Policy Address.
Hong Kong has always implemented very stringent regulatory standards on healthcare regime and drug safety. However, there have been frequent cases of illegal medical practices in recent years, and many colleagues have just cited relevant cases. Earlier on, a foreign domestic helper even provided unauthorized dental services after studying online. Although her clients were not Hong Kong residents, such non-compliant practices carried out by a person without professional qualifications would not only jeopardize the patients’ health, but might also lead to serious medical incidents, arousing widespread public concern.
Nowadays, illegal medical practices are no longer confined to street-side shops. Many illegal practitioners publicize so-called successful treatment cases through online platforms and social groups, misleading the public by presenting an outward image of being healthcare professionals. They often avoid stating directly whether they have relevant professional qualifications and leave no written records in a bid to circumvent regulation. As a result, law enforcement agencies have to devote more resources to effective inspections and evidence gathering.
Despite the clear provisions on qualifications for medical practice under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161) and the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (“CMO”) (Cap. 549) in force, government data show that there were only 35 prosecution cases for illegal practice of medicine over the past three years, with an even lower conviction rate. This reflects the ineffectiveness of the current law enforcement mechanism in curbing such practices. Take the “bone manipulating” service as an example. With its nature so vaguely defined as mentioned earlier, the practitioners often circumvent the regulation of CMO and the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance by labelling their services as “non-medical massage”. Without professional knowledge, ordinary citizens find it very difficult to accurately identify whether the services they receive fall within medical practices. Such information asymmetry provides room for lawbreakers to mislead persons seeking medical treatment.
Besides, with the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, some Mainland healthcare practitioners may claim to engage in cross-boundary practice and provide Chinese medicine services in Hong Kong, making members of the public prone to fall into the trap of receiving illegal medical services. I suggest that the Government should promptly specify the scope of illegal medical practices to cover emerging areas such as online medical consultations and cross-boundary services, so as to fill regulatory gaps. To tackle some grey areas, the Government should not only clarify the medical nature of relevant services and refine the regulatory framework, but also require that relevant medical service providers publicly disclose the nature of their services, with relevant information displayed in conspicuous positions on their premises. False disclosure or refusal to disclose should be regarded as a contravention of the law, for which the Government should impose penalties directly, so as to ease the evidential difficulties faced by law enforcement agencies.
Moreover, under the current law enforcement approach, regulatory authorities usually step in to investigate only after receiving complaints. This “no complaint, no investigation” regulatory approach may leave a large number of covert and hard-to-identify illegal practices to persist outside the regulatory regime. The Government should shift from passive to proactive. I suggest that an interdepartmental task force should be formed by the Department of Health, the Police and the Customs and Excise Department to step up online surveillance, enhance intelligence sharing and regularly launch special joint enforcement operations. The recent case of a foreign domestic helper engaging in unlicensed medical practice was uncovered after the Immigration Department received a report during its operation against illegal workers and referred the matter to relevant departments for investigation, exemplifying the effectiveness of interdepartmental collaboration in enforcing the law.
In addition to urging citizens to stay vigilant before receiving healthcare services, the Government should step up publicity. In particular, it should launch education activities targeted at groups with greater demand for pain treatment such as ageing neighbourhoods and labour groups, and disseminate warning cases to inform the public about the risks of receiving illegal medical services. Convenient reporting channels and anonymous reporting platforms should also be provided. The Government may even offer rewards to persons who provide effective leads, with a view to encouraging public participation in oversight.
On the technical front, the authorities may use artificial intelligence technology to monitor advertisements on social media and websites. They may identify suspicious content through keywords and issue timely warnings to curb illegal practices at source. Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the fines and imprisonment terms imposed on illegal medical practitioners, with heavier penalties for repeat offenders.
Deputy President, those suffering from disease and pain are unfortunate enough; it will be a double blow if they fall victim to scams of illegal medical practices. The authorities should take more proactive and effective measures to ensure that members of the public can receive healthcare services in a safe and reliable environment.
With these remarks, I support the motion.