Members may recall that about 5 years ago, the Harvard report questioned the standard of general practitioners without substantial evidence. Yes, this gave an excuse to the Government to propose Mandatory CME within our profession.
On 18th May 2004, our representative to the Legislative Council, Dr. Lo Wing Lok, was quoted by the South China Morning Post as stating Outsourcing some public clinics would lead to a deterioration in service quality , again without substantial evidence.
We are shocked to hear an outsider from USA downgrading our private colleagues 5 years ago. We are even shocked this time to hear our own representative to question the standard of private medical service as compared with that of the public. What side is he standing for the Government or the Profession? Whom is he working for himself or our colleagues?
Some may suspect that the outsourced Public Out Patient Clinics (OPCs) will eventually end up in the hands of the HMOs. Some may think that private doctors practising with these HMOs will be substandard with the money constraint. However, some may even have forgotten that our Code under clause 14.2 in the Red Book on Contract Medicine and Managed Care advise doctors should dissociate themselves from organizations that provide substandard medical services, infringe patients rights or otherwise contravene the Professional Code and Conduct. I do believe that we private or public doctors alike, no matter under what adverse circumstances including money constraint, will tender our best medical care to our patients. Please dont belittle our colleagues in the private sector.
Actually, as reported in my message to you good people last month, we have proposed to the Government on Health Care Reform in 1999 that if Public OPCs are to be contracted out, they should be contracted to private doctors or doctors' groups in level playing field. Ballot should the best way in the allocation of clinics. This is to avoid the over dominance by HMOs.
One of the two important objectives for the formation of our Union is to protect the interests and rights of our members. As you may remember, it was the court case of Asia Medinet against the then Hong Kong Doctors Union Limited that catalyst our transition. Up till now, the partners of Asia Medinet, Dr. Chiang Chun Yuan alias Chiang Shu Yin and Dr. Siu Ting Wing, owed us nearly HK$ 150,000.00. That is a big price to pay to learn the lesson to become a Trade Union which would have statutory role in fending for the rights of our members in Contract Medicine.
However, one thing I have not told your good self till now is what happened one day before HKDU Ltd. received the High Court Order for Injunction initiated by Asia Medinet against us.
Yeung, you have to come out tonight to meet Dr. Chiang Chun Yuan in Baptist Hospital. You should let him be the CEO of the All Hong Kong Doctors Group, or else they will sue you and HKDU Ltd. for interfering their employer employee relationship.. That was the message I received early in one Sunday morning, one day before HKDU Ltd. received the order from the High Court.
I immediately refused, knowing the track record of Dr. Chiang and understanding that there was nothing wrong done by HKDU Ltd. Then the story went and you should have known that HKDU Ltd. underwent a painstaking time in that period, fearing that our Association would go bankrupt with the lawsuit. It was only with negotiations after negotiations that Dr. Siu Ting Wing, on behalf of Asia Medinet, settled with us and agreed to redeem our lawyers fee which was up to HK$ 150,000.00.
Some members would query why I should mention such thing now instead of 4 years ago. The reason is that the one who passed me this message is now actually running a HMO. And still worse, he would most probably be one of the candidates (Not Dr. Choi Kin) who run for the Presidency of the most representative medical body in Hong Kong.
Dear colleagues, I do think it is the right time and my duty to tell you the complete truth before you cast your decisive vote in the coming elections. In an attempt to fend for the rights of our colleagues against HMOs dominating the medical world, I do think that it is my duty to run for key post again this time, at least, to look after the assets.
Dr. Yeung Chiu Fat Henry