A bill allowing patients to accept physiotherapy and occupational therapy without a doctor’s referral under specified circumstances and enabling allied health professionals to accept referrals from Chinese medicine practitioners will be published in the Gazette on March 21.
Announcing the move today, the Government said the Medical Professions (Amendment) Bill 2025 is scheduled for the first reading at the Legislative Council on March 26 following its gazettal.
Noting that “supplementary medical professions” has been used for over 40 years since the enactment of the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance in 1980, the Government said the bill will rename the term as “allied health professions” in view of the increasingly important and specialised roles of five professions in Hong Kong’s healthcare system.
To address the challenges to the healthcare system posed by an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the Government also encouraged citizens to seek early medical intervention for common illnesses, noting that allowing patients to access physiotherapy and occupational therapy direct is one of the key elements.
The bill sets out three circumstances under which patients may seek these therapy services directly without a doctor’s referral.
People may seek services directly from physiotherapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) for health conditions covered by recognised clinical protocols, and the PTs and OTs must adhere to the recognised clinical protocols at all times.
Patients may also seek direct physiotherapy or occupational therapy services for health conditions diagnosed by a registered doctor or Chinese medicine practitioners (CMP) within the past 12 months without obtaining a new referral letter each time.
Alternatively, PTs and OTs may provide direct services to patients without a doctor’s referral in emergency or other situations and community services approved by the Medical Professions Council, which will be renamed as the Allied Health Professions Council. Details of the designated situations will be set out in the two professional codes of practice issued by the council.
To further Chinese medicine as a constituent part of the healthcare system, the bill provides a legal framework for allied health professionals to accept referrals from CMPs under suitable conditions.
The Chinese medicine profession and allied health professions must reach a consensus on professional standards regarding knowledge, skills, professional competencies and conduct to formulate implementation details and update the relevant codes of practice.
In view of the practical clinical and operational needs of the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, the bill also allows relevant allied health professionals to accept referrals from CMPs within the hospital, supporting its phased commencement of services from the end of this year.
Additionally, a new limited registration pathway is proposed to admit qualified non-locally trained allied health professionals to practise in designated institutions within their specialised fields on the premise of not compromising professional standards.
Applications will be subject to approval by the Allied Health Professions Council. The designated institutions include Department of Health, Hospital Authority, Primary Healthcare Commission, Chinese Medicine Hospital and institutions offering allied health profession training programmes.
The council may impose conditions on an applicant’s practice to confine them to a specific scope of practice. Allied health professionals under limited registration will not be eligible for migration to full registration.
Meanwhile, the Government has proposed a new temporary registration pathway to enable non-locally trained allied health professionals to come to Hong Kong for academic exchanges and clinical demonstrations. A temporary registration will be valid for no more than 14 days and is not renewable.
The bill’s other amendments include the introduction of continuing professional development as a mandatory requirement for allied health professionals and changes to the composition and structure of the aforesaid council and its five constituent boards to better regulate the professions and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Also included are technical amendments, such as extending the validity of the existing practising certificates to three years and adjusting various fees under the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance.
