David Lam’s response came after he received more than 500 responses from private-sector doctors on fees charged for specific medical items or services.
These include outpatient services, surgical treatments and medical certificates.
Two thirds of the respondents indicated price have increased from three years ago.
The study also found that one doctor can charge up to double what another bills for the same item or procedure.
“The variations in fees charged can be quite big for different doctors and different procedures as well,” Lam said.
“From a patient’s standpoint, it is best to have a good grasp of how much one has to pay before one actually steps into a clinic,” he said.
“They would also probably prefer to have access to the range of fees charged by a few of the doctors they will be choosing from.”
In terms of general outpatient services, patients now pay around HK$400 for general practitioners, and HK$540 for specialists.
Those seeking specialist outpatient services will have to pay HK$1,000 and may be subject to additional charges due to extended consultation hours.
For surgical procedures, patients pay from HK$11,500 for minor operations such as removing cysts to an average of HK$141,580 for ultra major surgeries such as removal of brain lesions.
But some doctors may charge HK$20,000 for minor operations and HK$240,000 minor and ultra major procedures.
As for medical certificates, one fifth of the doctors provide them for free.
Around 30 percent of doctors also issue insurance claim forms free of charge.
Lam said a standardised representation of medical charges is necessary as services included in fees may be different among private medical providers.
“It can be quite difficult for patients when they are looking for the name of a surgery and different fee structures, [trying to find out] which one may involve surgical fees and ward visits and which one may be an all-inclusive package fee,” he said.
