Hospital Authority recorded 35,000 uncollected prescriptions since public hospital reform
發佈日期: 2026-04-24 19:59
TVB News
The Hospital Authority recorded around 35,000 uncollected prescriptions since the introduction of the public healthcare fees reform, with the figure being largely similar to that of last year.
Around 70 percent of such cases consisted of patients having sufficient medication at home.
But the Hospital Authority reminded that patients should acquire new medicine if their medication back home has expired.
With the reformed public hospital fee system now in force, patients have to make separate payments to collect their prescriptions.
Some residents shared their thoughts on the measure.
This woman questioned whether you can take less medicine if you're afflicted with a health condition, while this man said he would tell his doctor not to give him new painkillers when his previous prescription hasn't expired yet.
This as some lawmakers said many residents did not collect their prescriptions after the reform came into effect, largely owing to financial concerns.
During the first quarter of this year, the Hospital Authority processed around 1.4 million medication slips, with 2.4 percent, or 35,000 prescriptions, remaining uncollected.
The figure is similar to that of last year prior to the reform at 2.2 percent.
More than 70 percent of patients chose not to collect their medication after they consulted with their doctors, as they have enough medicine at home.
Around 12 percent of these prescriptions consisted of painkillers and artificial tear drops, and are categorised as medication that should only be used when necessary.
