The Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) under the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government has been officially established on 15th July 2024 to succeed the ongoing work of the Primary Healthcare Office (PHO). (Please click) Dr Pang Fei-chau, as the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, will lead the PHC Commission, taking charge of overseeing the service supply, standard setting, quality assurance and personnel training related to primary healthcare. The Commission is responsible for planning primary healthcare related services and resources allocation through strategic purchasing with the support of the Strategic Purchasing Office to further strengthening the primary healthcare services. 

The release of the Primary Healthcare Blueprint at the end of 2022 has paved the way to setting out concrete recommendations and implementation plans, and outlining a strategic roadmap for the future development of primary healthcare in Hong Kong. The Government's goal is to revamp the healthcare system, shifting the current treatment-oriented, hospital-based structure to a prevention-focused, community-based system, and devote more resources to promote primary healthcare.

Various initiatives to promote primary healthcare development in accordance with the Blueprint have been launched by the Government, including the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) last November, with a view to establishing a family doctor regime and positioning District Health Centres (DHCs) as a hub in fostering an expansion of the healthcare network at the community level. The CDCC Pilot Scheme has been well received since its launch. 

Furthermore, in order to strengthen the role of family doctors in the community healthcare system, with effects from early October 2023, only doctors enlisted in the Primary Care Directory (PCD) are allowed to enrol in various government-subsidised primary healthcare programmes. The number of doctors enlisted in the PCD, compared to the end of 2022 when the Blueprint was released, has increased by over 40 percent as at June this year, which is an encouraging sign of the family doctor network getting into shape. In case, you have not yet registered with the PCD, please find the following link to the relevant information and do so asap. (Please click) 

The PHC Commission will take forward various key tasks, employing a more comprehensive, co-ordinated, systematic and quality-assured strategy, in the following domains:

(1) Co-ordinating primary healthcare services and enhancing cross-sectoral and inter-organisational co-ordination.

(2) Setting standards and agreed protocol-driven care pathway to ensure primary healthcare services quality.

(3) Reinforcing the training for primary healthcare professionals.

In order to assist the PHC Commission in performing its functions and exercising its powers effectively, the Government also set up the Primary Healthcare Committee to gather wisdom from the Committee members to advise the PHC Commission from multiple perspectives. Chaired by the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr. Pang Fei-chau, the Committee comprises ex-officio members and non-official members. The latter covers persons from different professional backgrounds, including professionals from family medicine, Chinese medicine, dentistry and other professional sectors. 

The Government established the Primary Care Directory (the Directory) in 2011 with the objective of providing the public and healthcare service providers an easily accessible electronic database containing practice information and professional qualification of primary care providers of various disciplines in the community. (Please click) 

In 2016, the Advisory Committee on Primary Care Directory was established to provide advice on the continual development and maintenance of the Directory. With the establishment of the PHC Commission in July 2024, the Directory is now administered by the PHC Commission. The first meeting of the current term of office has recently been held. In addition to the Government officials, the membership includes Doctors, Dentists, Chinese Medicine Practitioners, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Pharmacists.