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Lo Hoi-ying

In the fourth instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on Hong Kong’s growing wellness trends, Lo Hoi-ying examines how telehealth is reshaping access to care, as practitioners warn it cannot fully replace in-person diagnosis.
Hong Kong housewife Chan Ket-yee, nearly 60, has battled severe eczema on her neck and underarms for decades.
Splitting her time between the United Kingdom and the city, Chan saw a dramatic improvement after visiting a Hong Kong public dermatologist, whose treatment plan proved far more effective than UK doctors who “just gave basic advice”.
Telehealth allowed her to manage care seamlessly across time zones, with convenient, long-term support for her condition.
In April, Chan attended a community event by WeDerm, a Hong Kong clinic specialising in integrated eczema care, where she learned about the link between skin and gut health.
She took a gut microbiome test in Hong Kong before returning to the UK for the summer and completed an online follow-up with her nutritionist to review the results.
“When the results came out, I was in the UK, so we communicated via WhatsApp video call,” she said.
“He sent a list showing me the levels of gut strains I had and whether they were high or low.
“He recommended a supplement brand available at Holland & Barrett in the UK, so I bought it and have been taking it for over a month now.”

She regularly uses digital channels to ask questions and discuss diets: “If I have quick questions, I message my nutritionist on WhatsApp or comment on his Instagram posts about eczema and nutrition.”
While demand for telemedicine in the private sector in Hong Kong has faded since the pandemic-era boom, online consultations remain an alternative for chronic patients needing regular check-ups, those with mobility issues, or residents studying or working abroad.
According to Hospital Authority data, the number of patients using its telehealth service has increased steadily after the initial 2022 surge.
Hong Kong’s public health system provided 175,384 telehealth cases in the past financial year, a 33 per cent increase from 2024-25.
“The Hospital Authority has progressively implemented telehealth services in suitable services, including different specialist outpatient clinics, nurse clinics, allied health services and outreach services,” it said.
Harrison Li Kin-cheung, co-founder of WeDerm, said telehealth benefited clients with busy schedules who might travel during treatment, which could last months.
But he said interacting with patients in person was more effective for building trust and rapport.

This was especially so with children and their parents, when reminding them about foods to avoid during treatment.
“The first point of contact with a patient should be in person to build credibility. Virtually, it’s not as direct and convenient,” he said.
Several traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics in Hong Kong also provide online consultation services, with some tailoring offerings for clients in the UK.
Yu Sheung-fung, medical director of the Yu Fung Chinese Medicine Group, said online consultations were popular among his younger customers, aged 30 to 50, who had busy schedules.
“In Hong Kong, working professionals who are busy with work might find it hard to visit a clinic after office hours, making distance a problem,” Yu said, adding that online patients made up around 3 per cent of his total clientele.
“They can schedule a teleconsultation during their lunch break and pick up their prescription at a clinic branch nearest to them after work.”
He added: “It saves them time; the consultation itself only takes about 10 to 15 minutes, making it much easier for them to manage their schedule.”
His clinic has a UK partner that delivers prescribed medication to local patients, an arrangement that began during the pandemic, which saw a boom in demand for such services.
“Since the UK is a common destination for Hong Kong people – whether for studying or emigrating – the demand is there,” he said.
“Some patients consult us for general health conditioning, like preparing for pregnancy. Others seek treatment for skin conditions like eczema, which worsened after moving to the UK, possibly due to changes in the climate.
“Since they usually saw us in Hong Kong before, we did video consultations to treat their existing issues.”




Lo Siu-luen, a Chinese medicine practitioner at Wing Fuk Tong, said there were “trade-offs” with online consultations.
In TCM, practitioners perform clinical assessments through four diagnostic methods: inspection; listening and smelling; inquiring; and palpation.
Lo said before the consultation, patients should ensure a stable internet connection, sufficient lighting and a quiet environment.
“Other than pulse-taking, the rest can still be done through the camera lens, but patients have to make sure they have enough natural light so it won’t affect the doctor’s judgment,” he said.
Another way his clinic uses telemedicine is for doctors to provide consultation without being physically in Hong Kong.
“If a patient needs special attention for sleep issues, the senior doctor will join the consultation on a video call,” Lo said.
“He will teach our practitioners some of his commonly used methods for acupuncture or manual therapies like massage, and our local doctor can perform them.”
To test how the absence of pulse-taking affects consultations, the South China Morning Post booked an online TCM session with Wing Fuk Tong regarding the reporter’s irregular periods.
The clinic arranged a same-day consultation via WhatsApp video call with TCM practitioner Kwan Yee-ha.

Kwan quickly obtained an overview of the reporter’s physical condition by asking a series of questions about lifestyle habits and symptoms.
After the reporter disclosed a habit of regularly consuming cold drinks and staying up late, Kwan determined that an excess of dampness had built up in the body, leading to swelling, congestion and a heavy physical sensation.
To confirm her diagnosis of internal dampness, Kwan asked to inspect the reporter’s tongue, which revealed a white coating.
She noted that cold hands and feet, combined with frequent dizziness, pointed to weak Yang energy and poor blood circulation.
The practitioner also inquired about stool condition, appetite, sleep quality and stress levels.
During the 20-minute session, Kwan deduced that high stress and late nights had weakened the spleen, causing dampness to accumulate while depriving the body of the energy required to circulate blood properly – ultimately resulting in a delayed period.
Kwan advised going to bed early and avoiding cold drinks and greasy food, and prescribed five days of powdered Chinese herbs to be dissolved in hot water.
Following the late-afternoon consultation, the prescribed medicine was delivered to the reporter’s doorstep by the next morning at a cost of HK$600 (US$76.50).
Despite the convenience of telehealth, a 2025 Consumer Council study found a general lack of transparency in price and service information, including unclear fees, uncertain refund mechanisms and confusing service details.
While telehealth was most commonly used for common cold and cough consultations, both surveyed practitioners and patients agreed that a major challenge was the inability to conduct physical examinations.
The council found consumers had concerns about medical incidents or inaccurate diagnoses, and that services lacked transparent pricing, such as refund terms, and offered limited consultation time slots.
Patients surveyed also said customer service was inaccessible and expressed concerns that sessions could be tracked and monitored.
The council suggested a list of items to be included in guidelines for telemedicine in Hong Kong, including clinical standards, obligations and liability, disclosure for informed consent and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).




While demand for private telehealth in Hong Kong has largely dwindled since the height of the Covid pandemic when the government enforced strict social distancing rules, online consultations now serve patients with specific needs for privacy and convenience.
Li from WeDerm said it was difficult for telehealth to grow in Hong Kong as healthcare was easily accessible, but would be more popular in countries with a bigger urban-rural divide.
Lo from Wing Fuk Tong agreed, saying demand for telehealth services at his clinic had dropped by more than 95 per cent since it was introduced during the pandemic.
“If existing patients who usually see our doctors have chronic conditions that need management and it isn’t convenient for them to come to the clinic, they can choose teleconsultation,” he said.
But one of telehealth’s strengths lies in the ease of set-up, allowing medical services to reach those in need in emergencies.
During the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po last year, charity Light of Raphael was able to get TCM telehealth services up and running within a day.
Founder Douglas Shum Hong-yuen first piloted the Clinic Without Walls telehealth project in 2022 during the height of the pandemic.

By cooperating with Neighbourhood Elderly Centres, the clinic provided telemedicine support, including online consultation, dispensing and medicine delivery to elderly residents living alone and under quarantine.
When the fire ravaged the housing estate, its team of TCM practitioners quickly set up online consultation services for Wang Fuk Court residents seeking shelter temporarily in three Sino Group hotels.
“At that time, it was very urgent and we wanted to help them,” he said.
“We thought about working with them since residents might have medical needs after moving in. For example, some might have inhaled thick smoke.”
The medication was also delivered to the hotels, reducing the need for affected residents to commute while they settled in.
Shum said that by partnering with the hotels, his team was able to set up the service within a day, while the hotels were preparing for residents to move in.
“By the time residents moved in, they had already received a notice that they could contact us if they needed medical support,” he said.
“There were quite a few cases of residents catching a cold, as some people were worried about their homes that day.
“For these types of conditions, telemedicine could help them very quickly, making them a very suitable group of patients for us to reach out to at that time.”


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Hospital Authority telehealth cases jump 33 per cent as private clinics tailor services for people with busy schedules


Hospital Authority telehealth cases jump 33 per cent as private clinics tailor services for people with busy schedules.


‘There are trade-offs’: how Hong Kong patients can use telemedicine wisely

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hospital Authority telehealth cases jump 33 per cent as private clinics tailor services for people with busy schedules

Hospital Authority telehealth cases jump 33 per cent as private clinics tailor services for people with busy schedules