Healthcare in the Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong Residents

What is HKU-Shenzhen Hospital, and is it actually part of HKU?

• The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital (港大深圳醫院, HKU-SZH) was built by the Shenzhen municipal government, which introduced HKU's management model when the hospital opened on 1 July 2012. HKU is not the owner; it contributes clinical expertise and a management framework. The hospital operates 2,000 beds, with an expansion project under way toward 3,000, and gained China's Class 3A hospital rating in 2017 (having already earned ACHS accreditation in 2015). Its Centres of Excellence, built on HKU's clinical expertise, cover cardiovascular disease, neuromedicine, oncology, orthopaedics, and reproductive medicine and prenatal diagnosis, alongside an International Medical Center for non-local patients.

  Source: HKU Mainland Affairs Office

• HKU-SZH is a teaching hospital of HKU's Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine — the same faculty Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong belongs to. The Hospital Authority has held a formal collaboration agreement with HKU-SZH since 2015, renewed in 2017 and 2019, and Queen Mary Hospital signed its own collaboration agreement with HKU-SZH in December 2023 to deepen clinical exchange between the two hospitals.

  Source: Government of the HKSAR, press release

Can I use my Elderly Health Care Voucher in the Greater Bay Area?

• Since February 2024, the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme has run a Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme, letting eligible Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above use their annual HK$2,000 voucher (accumulable up to HK$8,000, the same terms as in Hong Kong) to pay for outpatient healthcare at designated departments of participating Mainland institutions — most offering combined medical and dental services. Coverage has grown from 7 institutions at launch to 21 service points across all nine Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, including two service points run by HKU-SZH.

  Source: Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme, Government of the HKSAR

• As at end-May 2026, more than 40,600 eligible elderly persons had used vouchers under the pilot scheme, in about 101,000 claim transactions worth a total of roughly HK$103.28 million. The most common uses were monitoring long-term conditions (54% of claims) and preventive services (22%).

  Source: LCQ17: Measures to facilitate elderly persons to retire in the Mainland, Government of the HKSAR

What is 港澳藥械通 (the Hong Kong and Macao Drug and Medical Device Connect)?

• 港澳藥械通 (the Hong Kong and Macao Drug and Medical Device Connect) lets designated healthcare institutions in the nine Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area use selected Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices that would otherwise need separate Mainland regulatory approval. It began as a trial at HKU-SZH from January to 31 July 2021, then expanded in batches — further designated-institution lists were published in February 2023, September 2024 and December 2025. As at 31 July 2026, 77 drugs and 95 medical devices were allowed for use at 71 designated healthcare institutions across the Greater Bay Area.

  Source: Drug Office, Department of Health

Why do some Hong Kong residents seek healthcare in the Greater Bay Area?

• A 2025 peer-reviewed study in Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal found that Hong Kong's high costs, long waiting times, and gaps in public health, dental and long-term care services are among the factors pushing some residents to seek more affordable, accessible care in the Greater Bay Area.

  Source: Yuen & Cheung (2025), Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal, 28(3)

That's one real reason some residents look across the border. It's not a reason to skip checking who's treating you. ok.med verifies every Hong Kong doctor's registration before they appear here. It holds no such data for a Mainland provider, so that check is yours to make. How to verify a Mainland GBA healthcare provider →