The CUHK Medical Centre located next to the University Train Station, was launched to provide services on 6 January 2021. It is a non-profit, private teaching hospital, wholly owned by The Chinese University of Hong Kong. There are over 500 in-patient beds and over 90 day beds, running with a smart hospital concept. College alumnus, Professor Justin C Y Wu of Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, CUHK, and Chief Operating Officer of the CUHK Medical Centre, delivered a talk to our students on “Pioneering Solution in Healthcare” by taking a video for College Assembly at the Medical Centre on 9 February 2021.

17 years ago, Professor Justin C Y Wu shared his SARS story to United College students at a College Assembly. This time, he talked about the medical system of Hong Kong and a “Pioneering Solution in Healthcare”.

Why to set up CUHK Medical Centre, a private teaching hospital?

It was explained by Professor Justin C Y Wu that according to sociodemographic, the society of Hong Kong is facing the situation of ageing, low income and chronic disease burden. The pressure of the public healthcare system is enormous. A lot of patients must wait a long period of time to get specialists’ consultation and treatment.

Yet, with advancement in medicine and technology, the Care Model nowadays has been developed into a model with the features of Specialisation, Multidisciplinary, Ambulatory, Technology-based and Precision Medicine.

There are many challenges and changes in the medical system in Hong Kong. The CUHK Medical Centre is an academic centre of excellence with the social mission to bridge the gaps between private and public healthcare services, and to pursuit for clinical excellence with cutting edge technology. The CUHK Medical Centre implements a dual pricing strategy for private and semi-private patients. Pricing for private patients is with flexibility and taking care their customised needs, while pricing for semi-private patients considers their affordability and the need of price certainty. Set prices for many operations and medical treatments are clearly listed to attract patients to come, releasing the burden of the public healthcare system. Therefore, the CUHK Medical Centre is a pioneer of the changes in the healthcare system of Hong Kong.