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I attended the opening ceremony of the North District Family Medicine Integrated Centre (NDFMIC) of New Territories East Cluster of Hospital Authority (HA) on 10th October, 2025, witnessing a major milestone of Family Medicine development in Hong Kong. It was announced that the HA’s General Out-patient Clinic (GOPC) and Family Medicine Specialist Clinic (FMSC) services would be unified under the name of “Family Medicine Out-patient Services” with effect from 11th October, 2025, with the GOPCs and Community Health Centres (CHCs) adopting the new names of Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) and Family Medicine Integrated Centres (FMICs) respectively at the same time. (please click) (please click) This is part of the plan to implement the recommendations in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint to co-ordinate the HA’s repositioning of GOPC services to focus on serving underprivileged groups, and to highlight the development direction of primary healthcare services, which is providing people-oriented services based on Family Medicine principles with a focus on prevention. Professor LO Chung-mau, the Secretary for Health, said that the HA’s Family Medicine team would focus on caring for the underprivileged groups and become their family
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doctors, providing them with comprehensive primary healthcare services through the Family Medicine service model. In addition to treating episodic illnesses with relatively mild symptoms, the team would also focus on providing services including personalised health screenings, chronic disease prevention and management, vaccinations, and health education. Dr. Cecilia Fan, the Under Secretary for Health, also announced that the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) has launched a newly designed logo which would be displayed at District Health Centres (DHCs)/DHC Expresses under the PHC Commission, as well as the HA’s FMCs and FMICs co-ordinated by the PHC Commission, marking a new milestone for Hong Kong's primary healthcare services.
In the meantime, the PHC Commission has been expanding the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme to designated HA’s FMCs and FMICs in phases, providing underprivileged groups with hypertension, high blood glucose and hyperlipidaemia screenings, as well as chronic disease management services. Furthermore, the HA has incorporated women’s health services into designated FMCs and FMICs, providing comprehensive preventive care and health promotion services to eligible underprivileged women. The NDFMIC is one of the HA’s service locations providing women’s health services. Mr. Henry FAN, the Chairman of the HA, also said the NDFMIC would develop a comprehensive district health network for residents in the North District based on a community-based principle, providing Family Medicine out-patient consultations, multidisciplinary care and allied health services, patient education and other supporting services, as well as offering a comprehensive range of primary healthcare services for residents in the North District. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ annual conference, GP25, will be held from 14th to 16th November at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland, Australia. The theme of GP25 is “Brighter future together”. (please click) GP25 is the largest national conference dedicated to general practice in Australia, providing an essential platform for learning and professional growth, as well as opportunities to connect with peers, industry leaders and healthcare professionals. It promises to provide practical, hands-on knowledge tailored to the unique needs of family doctors. Please mark your diaries and don’t miss this great annual learning opportunity.
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Dr. David V K CHAO
