How to choose a family doctor 2026: what family medicine is, checking specialist registration, public Family Medicine Clinics and private clinics, government-subsidised schemes, insurance
To choose a family doctor, check the doctor's Medical Council registration and, for a specialist, Family Medicine (code S05) on the Specialist Register; then choose a private clinic or a Hospital Authority Family Medicine Clinic by hours, fees and government-subsidised schemes. Family Medicine provides continuing, comprehensive primary care to individuals and families (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025). Book a Doctor's Family Medicine and General Practice lists are in English-name order (this page is compiled by this site).
What does a family doctor treat?
Family Medicine provides primary, continuing and comprehensive care for individuals and families in the community, covering physical, psychological and social aspects, and family doctors also coordinate care by other healthcare professionals; it comes under The Hong Kong College of Family Physicians (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025); the specialty's name on the Medical Council register is Family Medicine (S05); for its English name, see Family Medicine: English name and code.
Whether and when to refer to a particular specialty is decided by the treating family doctor according to the patient's condition.
How do I check a family doctor's registration?
On the Medical Council of Hong Kong website, you can search for a doctor by name or registration number; whether the doctor is a family medicine specialist depends on whether Family Medicine (S05) is listed in the specialist registration field of the doctor's record. For the steps, see How to check a doctor's registration and specialty.
A doctor must be on the Specialist Register to hold himself or herself out as a specialist, and can use only the title of the specialty in which he or she is registered (Medical Council Code of Professional Conduct, section 7, October 2022).
The Primary Healthcare Commission's Primary Care Directory lists the practice details and professional qualifications of primary healthcare service providers in the community; about 4,000 doctors of Western medicine were on the Directory as at 31 January 2026, and only doctors on the Directory can take part in government-subsidised primary healthcare schemes (Government paper submitted to the Legislative Council, March 2026).
What family doctor schemes does the Government have?
The Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme was launched in November 2023 and, through a ‘family doctor for all’ and public-private partnership model, subsidises eligible Hong Kong residents to be screened for diabetes and hypertension in the private healthcare sector, with blood lipid testing added from March 2025; participants who are diagnosed can continue to be followed up, with government subsidy, by a family doctor of their own choice (Government paper submitted to the Legislative Council, March 2026).
By the end of 2022 the Government had set up District Health Centres or District Health Centre Expresses in all 18 districts of Hong Kong, mainly providing services such as family doctor matching, chronic disease screening and management, and nursing and allied health support (Government paper submitted to the Legislative Council, March 2026); you can ask a District Health Centre about eligibility.
How do I book a public Family Medicine Clinic? Can I book a private clinic directly?
How to book a Hospital Authority Family Medicine Clinic is shown in the table below. Our analysis: for a private clinic, you can ask the clinic directly how to book.
Family Medicine Outpatient Services mainly serve chronic disease patients whose condition is stable and patients with episodic illnesses with relatively mild symptoms, and focus on serving underprivileged groups such as low-income families and elderly people in poverty (Hospital Authority, December 2025).
‘Eligible Persons’ in the table mainly means holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card and children under 11 who are Hong Kong residents; for details, see Public healthcare fee reform 2026.
For how to book, see Booking a general outpatient clinic; for clinics in each district, see Hong Kong family medicine clinics by district; for the change of name, see General outpatient clinic: the English term. In an emergency, go to the Accident and Emergency Department.
| Item | Public (Hospital Authority Family Medicine Clinics) | Private clinics |
|---|---|---|
| How to book | Patients with episodic illnesses can book a consultation slot within the next 24 hours through the telephone appointment system, the eHealth App or HA Go (Hospital Authority announcement of 29 September 2026); patients not yet registered with the Hospital Authority must first register in person at a Family Medicine Clinic | As arranged by the clinic |
| Consultation fee | HK$150 per attendance for Eligible Persons (from 1 January 2026) | Ask the clinic; for what a consultation fee quote generally includes, see Private specialist fees overview |
| Medicines | HK$5 per drug item, charged in units of 4 weeks (self-financed drugs excluded) | Ask the clinic how medicines are charged |
| Cost protection | An annual charge cap of HK$10,000 (excluding inpatient charges in special wards and self-financed drugs and devices), by application, with no means test; those in financial difficulty can apply for a medical fee waiver | Depends on your medical insurance cover |
How do I compare clinics?
When comparing, put the same item on the same basis.
| What to compare | How to put it on the same basis |
|---|---|
| Consultation fee | Whether the consultation fee includes medicines, and for how many days; whether laboratory tests and investigations are charged separately |
| Consultation hours | Whether the clinic is open in the evening, on Sundays and on public holidays, and whether booking is needed |
| Government-subsidised schemes | Whether the doctor takes part in government-subsidised primary healthcare schemes such as the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme |
| Referral | Whether the doctor will write a referral letter with test results attached when you need to see a specialist |
What should I check when using medical insurance for a family doctor?
Before seeing a private doctor, confirm three things with the insurer: whether the policy covers outpatient visits, whether it is limited to a designated medical network, and whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed; see Using medical insurance for a private specialist.
The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme covers only individual indemnity hospital insurance; outpatient insurance is outside the Scheme. The Standard Plan covers up to 1 outpatient or emergency consultation before a hospital stay or day surgery, and up to 3 follow-up outpatient visits within 90 days after discharge or day surgery, which must be directly related to the illness or injury requiring the hospital stay or day surgery, at HK$580 per visit and HK$3,000 per policy year (Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, Standard Plan policy template, July 2022).
Some insurers offer pre-approval (commonly called ‘免找數’): if both the policy and the hospital offer direct billing, you can apply to the insurer before admission and the insurer pays the hospital directly; the approved amount is an estimate, and before discharge you still pay charges not listed in the ‘letter of guarantee’, such as the deductible, co-payment and items outside the cover (Insurance Authority, January 2024); see Medical insurance pre-approval.
What should I ask before booking? What should I bring to the first visit?
Is the doctor listed under Family Medicine (S05) on the Medical Council's Specialist Register?
Does the consultation fee include medicines? How are medicines charged, and for how many days?
Is the clinic open in the evening or on holidays? Is booking needed?
Does the doctor take part in government-subsidised schemes such as the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme?
If I need a specialist referral, can the doctor write a referral letter and attach test reports?
What to bring: previous test reports and a list of the medicines you are taking; see What to prepare before a specialist appointment.
Feeling unwell: when should I call 999 or go to A&E straight away?
If you feel it is an emergency, call 999 straight away. The situations in which this site suggests calling 999, with the source for each, are listed in Why do we suggest calling 999?.
Frequently asked questions
Who is a good family doctor?
What you can check yourself: the doctor's registration, whether the doctor is listed under the Family Medicine specialty, consultation hours, fees, and whether the doctor takes part in government-subsidised schemes. To find a doctor by district, use Book a Doctor's Family Medicine list (39) and General Practice list (1,632, as of 25 October 2026), each doctor page showing the register check date, in order of English name, not of preference. Book a Doctor does not publish patient reviews, because it is hard to verify whether an online reviewer actually saw the doctor; instead it lists what you can check yourself, such as register entries, qualifications and practice arrangements, with their sources and dates.
What is the difference between a general practitioner and a family medicine specialist?
Doctors on the General Register are legally entitled to practise in Hong Kong, treating medical and surgical conditions; only doctors listed under Family Medicine (S05) on the Specialist Register can hold themselves out as family medicine specialists (Medical Council, revised September 2026).
Which public clinics can I go to in the evening or on a Sunday?
There are 76 Family Medicine Clinics across Hong Kong's 18 districts, 24 of which have evening sessions and 15 of which are open on Sunday mornings (Hospital Authority data published through DATA.GOV.HK); for the list by district, see Hong Kong family medicine clinics by district.
Can a referral letter from a private family doctor be used to book a public specialist clinic?
Yes. To book a new appointment at a Hospital Authority specialist outpatient clinic, you need a referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months; a letter from a private doctor is also accepted.