Booking a specialist outpatient clinic new case: how to book a public specialist clinic, the referral letter, ‘BookHA’ in HA Go and triage steps

What do I need to prepare before booking?

To book a new appointment at a public hospital specialist outpatient clinic, you must provide a referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months; one issued by a private doctor is also accepted (see Do I need a referral letter to see a specialist?).

To book an antenatal check-up through ‘BookHA’, the referral letter must state the ‘first day of the last menstrual period’ or the ‘expected date of delivery’.

How do I submit a booking?

New cases in gynaecology, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, medicine, surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics and paediatrics can be booked through ‘BookHA’, without going to the clinic in person or booking by fax (Hospital Authority, January 2018); ‘BookHA’ was a feature in the HA Go mobile app (Hospital Authority, December 2023).

Most referral letters issued by the Hospital Authority carry a QR code, which can be read with the app's built-in scanner instead of photographing and uploading the referral letter page by page. HA Go accepts registration as users from Hong Kong Identity Card holders aged 18 or above.

The specialties that can be booked are as shown in HA Go.

What happens after I submit?

New referrals are usually first screened by a nurse and then reviewed by a specialist in the specialty concerned, and classified as first priority (urgent), second priority (semi-urgent) or routine (stable) (Government reply to the Legislative Council, April 2026). The Hospital Authority's target is to keep the median waiting time for urgent and semi-urgent new cases within two weeks and eight weeks respectively; for waiting times for stable new cases in each specialty, see Public specialist outpatient waiting times.

For stable new cases booked through ‘BookHA’, specialist outpatient clinics could already arrange an appointment date within 14 days and notify the patient by SMS the next day (Hospital Authority, January 2018). If you no longer need the appointment, you can cancel it with the app's built-in function.

What if my condition gets worse while I wait?

If your condition gets worse while you wait, you can contact the specialist outpatient clinic concerned to ask for an earlier appointment (Government reply to the Legislative Council, February 2012); in an emergency, you can go to the Accident and Emergency Department.

How much does a public specialist cost?

From 1 January 2026, Eligible Persons pay HK$250 per specialist outpatient attendance and HK$20 per prescribed drug item, charged in units of 4 weeks (self-financed drugs excluded). For the fees reform, the annual charge cap and fee waivers, see Public healthcare fees and charges reform 2026.

For a comparison of waiting and fees between public and private specialists, see Public or private specialist?; for what to prepare before seeing a specialist, see What to prepare before a specialist appointment.

Frequently asked questions