In accordance with the Government’s policy direction to promote the development of “evidence-based” Chinese medicine (CM) and out-patient CM services in the public sector, as well as to provide training placements for local CM degree programme graduates, the Hospital Authority (HA) was tasked to establish a total of 18 Chinese Medicine Centres for Training and Research (CMCTRs) in each of the 18 districts since 2003. The 18 CMCTRs all operate on a tripartite collaboration model involving the HA, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and a local university, and the NGOs are responsible for the running and day-to-day operation of the CMCTRs. The 18th CMCTR in Islands District has commenced operation in July 2014, and the target of establishing one CMCTR in each of the 18 district was completed to serve the general public. In 2018, the total number of attendances at the 18 CMCTRs was about 1.2 million.

The Government has all along been committed to promoting the development of CM in Hong Kong. As announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2018 Policy Address”, the Government will formulate a holistic CM policy and incorporate CM as an integral part of the healthcare system in Hong Kong. Starting from March 2020, the 18 CMCTRs will be transformed into CM clinics at district level and will be renamed as Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres. The Government will allocate resources for 18 CM clinics to provide an annual quota for government subsidised out-patient CM services which is applicable to eligible Hong Kong residents.

To help the Government gather experiences in the operation of integrated Chinese-Western medicine (ICWM) and CM in-patient services, the HA has been tasked by the Government to carry out an ICWM Programme (programme). Through the implementation of the programme in designated public hospitals, in-patient CM services and follow-up CM out-patient services are provided to patients of selected disease areas (including stroke care, musculoskeletal pain management and cancer palliative care). Since April 2021, the HA has introduced ICWM in-patient services in United Christian Hospital. At present, there are a total of eight public hospitals providing ICWM in-patient services, covering all seven hospital clusters of the HA.

Besides, the HA launched the mobile application "18 CM Clinics" in June 2021 which provides an additional means for the general public to have information of CMCTRs and make appointments for Government-subsidised CM out-patient services on top of the existing way of booking through telephone calls. For more information on Government-subsidised CM out-patient services, ICWM services, "18 CM Clinics" mobile app and the latest information, please visit HACMK.