What official ways are there to check a doctor in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong has three official or statutory ways to check a doctor: the Medical Council's list of registered medical practitioners and Specialist Register (registration and specialty), the Primary Healthcare Commission's Primary Care Directory (practice details and subsidised schemes of those enrolled), and eHealth's 'Search Doctors' (professionals in eHealth and government schemes). Separately, the Hong Kong Doctors Union directory is a doctors directory approved by the Medical Council and run by the Union, a trade union, not a government or statutory register. None of these needs an account.
What does each channel show?
The four channels differ in where their data comes from and what they are for, so checking the same doctor in more than one gives complementary answers. The Medical Council's registers govern on credentials; the other three add practice information and scheme participation.
| Channel | Who runs it | What it can tell you | Login needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| List of registered medical practitioners and Specialist Register | Medical Council of Hong Kong | Whether the doctor is registered, the category of registration, whether the doctor is on the Specialist Register and in which specialty; disciplinary inquiry judgments are also published by year | No |
| Primary Care Directory | Primary Healthcare Commission, Health Bureau | For professionals who have joined: practice information (such as practice address and consultation hours), professional registration number, professional qualifications, and the government-subsidised primary healthcare programmes they take part in | No |
| eHealth 'Search Doctors' | The Government (eHealth) | By keyword or advanced filters, the professional's category, specialty, district and the healthcare schemes they take part in | No |
| Hong Kong Doctors Union directory | Hong Kong Doctors Union (a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance) | A search by name, district and specialty; the directory's website says it carries basic practice information such as registered specialty and contact details, clinic district, service charges and opening hours | No |
How do you check against the Medical Council's list?
The 'List of Registered Medical Practitioners' on the Medical Council's website can be searched by Chinese or English name or by registration number; doctors with the same name are distinguished by registration number. Registered doctors on the General Register are qualified to practise in Hong Kong (Medical Council list of registered medical practitioners, read on 14 October 2026).
Whether a doctor is a specialist, and in which specialty, is shown on the Specialist Register, and a doctor may call himself or herself a specialist only in the specialty in which he or she is registered. For the step-by-step method see how to check a doctor's registration and specialty, and for what the qualification abbreviations mean see what FHKAM means.
Once you have found a doctor in one of the other three channels, you can take the name on the record back to the Medical Council's list for one more check; if the record shows a Medical Council registration number, checking by number is more precise.
What is the difference between the Primary Care Directory and eHealth 'Search Doctors'?
The Primary Care Directory is managed by the Primary Healthcare Commission under the Health Bureau and covers professionals who meet the conditions and have applied to join; its public search covers Western medicine doctors, dentists, Chinese medicine practitioners, occupational therapists and physiotherapists (Primary Care Directory public search, read on 14 October 2026). Professionals update their records through their own Directory accounts (Primary Care Directory FAQs for service providers, read on 15 October 2026).
The eHealth 'Search Doctors' page searches by keyword and returns the doctor's name, English name, category of healthcare professional, district and the healthcare schemes they take part in, with an advanced search as well (eHealth Search Doctors page, read on 14 October 2026). The question it answers is whether a doctor takes part in eHealth and the related government schemes.
Both cover only professionals who have joined: not finding a doctor does not mean the doctor is not registered; registration is confirmed by the Medical Council's registers. For what eHealth is and how to register, see eHealth registration.
What can these channels not tell you?
Fees: the Hong Kong Doctors Union directory's website says it carries service charges, but it also warns that clinic details can change at any time and advises checking before relying on them; the actual charge is as the clinic confirms. For how to ask so that the answer is useful, see how to ask about fees before a consultation.
Booking: once you have found a doctor, you can book with the clinic directly using the contact details on the record. For how doctors directories and commercial platforms differ on booking, see the six differences between Hong Kong doctor platforms.
The Medical Council's website separately lists the organisations approved to compile doctors directories; on 14 October 2026 there were six, namely the Health Bureau's Primary Care Directory, the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians, the Hong Kong Doctors Union, the Hong Kong Medical Association, the Hong Kong Medical Association and Hospital Authority Kowloon West Cluster 'CONNECT Cancer Survivorship Shared Care Pilot Programme', and the Hong Kong Orthopaedic Association. Commercial doctor directories and this site are not on that list.
Frequently asked questions
Does checking a doctor's registration cost anything or need an account?
None of the four channels required an account or a fee when checked on 14 October 2026. The Medical Council's list page also warns that misusing the personal data on the list for unrelated purposes carries liability under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
If I cannot find a doctor in the Primary Care Directory, is something wrong?
No. The Directory covers only professionals who have applied to join, and whether a doctor is registered is shown on the Medical Council's registers. Doctors taking part in government-subsidised primary healthcare schemes such as the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme must have joined the Directory.
Can the official channels show a doctor's disciplinary record?
The Medical Council's website publishes, by year, the gazetted judgments of disciplinary inquiries held on or after 2 July 2008. The register lists and the judgments are on separate pages, so look at both.
Is the Hong Kong Doctors Union directory the same thing as the Medical Council's registers?
No. The Medical Council's registers are the statutory record of registration and cover every registered doctor; the Hong Kong Doctors Union directory is compiled by the Union, is an approved doctors directory under the Medical Council, and covers only doctors who have joined, while carrying practice information the registers do not hold.