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Figure 5.1
Conceptual Model of Integrated Health Services in Hong Kong

Hospital and Specialist Community and
Ambulatory Care Hubs Primary Care Hubs
and Networks and Networks

Private Hospitals
Hospital Authority:
• General
Out-patient Clinics
• Community Health
Acute Care: Centres
A&E and Inpatient Hospital and • Mental Health
primary care Social Services Social Services
Private Healthcare Ambulatory AUTHORITY Outreach: integration Private Primary Care: Centres Department of Health:
integration
Community
• Community
HOSPITAL
Specialist
Geriatric
District
Medical-
Assessment
Health
social
Care
Services
• Community
Services
• Maternal & Child Health
• Dentists
Rehabilitative and Nursing Public- • General Practitioners • Preventive Services
• Chinese Medicine
• Student Health
Extended Care, private • Nursing & Allied • Men & Women Health
Palliative Care partnership Health • Elderly Health
• Dental Care
Social Services
Private Hospitals
Source: OHKF, 2018
5.1.3 THE FINANCING LEVER AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS

Financing is a crucial lever for the reorientation of a primary care-led integrated care system.
There are different financing and payment tools developed, including capitation,
performance-based payment schemes, provider incentives and mechanisms to hold
providers accountable. With reference to the experiences of different countries, capitation
has been reported to be a better performance payment method. Capitation can be used as a
cross-district resource allocation tool, and it enables payments to individuals and groups, for
example to primary care networks (PCNs). Capitation funding in healthcare can contribute to
a shift from mainly general practitioners (GPs) to a larger range of health service providers to
deliver primary care services (Cumming, 2011).

While the role of the private sector in health systems has been debated, there is a consensus
that the private sector can and should play an integral role in moving heath systems towards
UHC (Harding, 2009). This will enable a system to use health resources more efficiently and
effectively, provide integrated, continuous, and coordinated health services, promote access
to needed care for all population groups, and provide financial risk protection. Purchasing in
Hong Kong has been conducted through public-private partnerships (PPP) mechanisms.
PPPs were developed to encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the
public and private sectors, and to provide greater efficiency and access to healthcare.
Using PPPs as a purchasing instrument has been expected to enhance the
complementary role of the private sector and help to overcome the challenges of system
segmentation. Nonetheless, our research also demonstrated that the design,
implementation and financing practices of healthcare PPPs generally veer
on the passive side of the purchasing continuum (WHO, 2000). PPPs are
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