Opening a clinic in Hong Kong

How to open a clinic in Hong Kong

Q: How long does a clinic licence last?

Up to 5 years, or up to 1 year for a scheduled clinic.[[licenceNotes]] The licensee applies for renewal at least 6 weeks before it expires.[[licenceNotes]]

Since 13 October 2025, every clinic in Hong Kong needs a licence from the Department of Health under Cap. 633, granted after a Chief Medical Executive is appointed and a site inspection against the Code of Practice for Clinics, unless it qualifies as a small practice clinic with a letter of exemption. From the first appointment, wai runs booking, signed notes, consent, Chinese and English messaging and payments on one record, with every action kept as evidence for the inspector.

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Updated 16 October 2026. Every rule is checked against the official source and cited below.

A woman reads a tablet in a lounge chair by floor-to-ceiling windows, the lights of Hong Kong spread below at dusk

Regulator

Department of Health, Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities

Law

Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance, Cap. 633

Licence

Up to 5 years, renewed 6 weeks before expiry

Records

Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Cap. 486

Six steps to an open clinic in Hong Kong

Who licenses a clinic in Hong Kong, and in what order?Step 01
What do the premises of a Hong Kong clinic need?Step 02
What cover and safeguards does a Hong Kong clinic need?Step 03
What checks does a Hong Kong clinic run before it hires clinicians?Step 04
What has to be in place before the first Hong Kong patient?Step 05
What matters in a Hong Kong clinic's first 90 days?Step 06

How to open a clinic in Hong Kong, step by step

From the licence to the first 90 days, in the order a founder meets each step.

01Licensing and the regulator

Who licenses a clinic in Hong Kong, and in what order?

The Department of Health, through its Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities, under Cap. 633, whose clinic provisions took effect on 13 October 2025.¹²

Check for the exemption first. A clinic run by no more than 5 registered doctors or dentists, who are its only doctors or dentists apart from locums and have exclusive use of the premises, can request a letter of exemption.³
Appoint a Chief Medical Executive, registered in Hong Kong for at least 4 years and serving no more than 3 clinics.⁴
Apply on e-Licensing, signed with iAM Smart+, and pay HK$8,840 for up to 5 rooms, HK$9,860 for 6 to 10 or HK$10,900 for more than 10.⁴
Pass the site inspection, with the clinic meeting the Code of Practice before the Department of Health arranges the date.⁴

02Premises and fit-out

What do the premises of a Hong Kong clinic need?

The Code asks for a design, size, layout and condition fit for safe care, kept clean, with adequate ventilation, lighting and signage, and construction and use that comply with Hong Kong law.⁵

Keep maintenance and servicing records for every item of medical equipment, and never reuse single-use items.⁵
Send the documents for any critical care area, operating room ventilation or medical gas system at least 10 working days before the inspection.⁴
Expect follow-up inspections if alterations to the premises are needed before the licence is issued.⁴

03Indemnity and insurance

What cover and safeguards does a Hong Kong clinic need?

The Code of Practice for Clinics and the licence guidance notes set no professional indemnity requirement, so agree each doctor's cover with their provider before the first patient. The Code does set the safeguards around risk.⁵⁴

Write policies for resuscitation, keep emergency equipment and medicines checked, and have CPR-trained staff on duty during clinical service.⁵
Keep a written protocol for the emergency transfer of patients to an acute hospital.⁵
Run fire evacuation exercises at regular intervals, and document them.⁵

The Code of Practice for Clinics, checklist

04Hiring and credentialing

What checks does a Hong Kong clinic run before it hires clinicians?

The Chief Medical Executive must make sure every healthcare professional holds the requisite qualifications, valid registration and a practising certificate, and works within their scope.⁵

Check each doctor's registration and practising certificate before their first session.⁵
Align clinic policies with the Medical Council of Hong Kong's Code of Professional Conduct, as the Code of Practice asks.⁵
Set up a Medical Advisory Committee if you run 4 or more clinics under a single Chief Medical Executive, who must then have 8 years' registration.⁴

05Patient-facing setup

What has to be in place before the first Hong Kong patient?

A written medical records policy, records holding what the Code lists, an up-to-date fee schedule and a complaints mechanism with a notice patients can see.⁵

Record at least a unique identifier, name, gender, date of birth, address, phone, drug allergies, consultation notes, investigations and treatment.⁵
Date and sign every entry, and protect stored personal data under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.⁵
Keep a fee schedule covering every chargeable item readily available to patients.⁵
Post a notice of the complaint channels with the contact details of the Committee on Complaints against Private Healthcare Facilities.⁵

06The first 90 days

What matters in a Hong Kong clinic's first 90 days?

Display the licence, report sentinel and serious untoward events within 24 hours, and keep the Code met on an ordinary day.⁴⁵

Display the licence in a conspicuous place in the clinic, on paper or a comparable screen.⁴
Report a sentinel or serious untoward event to the Director of Health within 24 hours of identifying it.⁵
Diary the renewal at least 6 weeks before the licence expires, and apply for any change in the scale or scope of services.⁴
Watch for the penalty date, which the Government will announce, while clinics that have applied may keep operating.⁶

A receptionist works at a sculpted stone desk in a high lobby, palms and tall trees through the glass behind her

How wai runs a Hong Kong clinic from day one

From the day the licence or letter of exemption arrives, a Hong Kong clinic runs its diary, notes, fees and patient conversations on one record, with the records the Code lists kept as the work happens.

01
Appointments

Patients request appointments in Chinese or English from your own website at any hour, with a reminder before every visit and cancelled slots offered to the waitlist.
Online booking from your own website, every clinician's diary read from their calendar, reminders, rebooking after a missed visit and waitlist offers when a slot opens.

For patients
Online booking at any hour, with a reminder before the visit.
For the business
Fewer missed appointments, and cancelled slots offered to the waitlist.
On the record
Every booking, reminder and change, with a time and a name.
02
Billing

Card payments go to your clinic's own account, with the fees and cancellation policy shown before the patient commits, matching the schedule at the counter.
Card payments into your own Stripe account, the cancellation policy shown at booking, invoices, statements and reconciliation, with an export for your accountant.

For patients
A clear price and policy before they commit, and an invoice in their app.
For the business
Payments reconciled against visits, with an export for your accountant.
On the record
What was charged, when, against which visit, and the policy the patient saw.
03
Scribe

The note, letters and referrals are drafted from the consultation for the doctor to read, edit and sign, so every entry is dated, signed and attributable.
The note, letters and referrals written from the consultation, cited to published clinical guidelines, with the transcript beside the note, for the clinician to read, edit and sign.

For patients
The clinician's attention stays on them during the consultation.
For the business
Less time spent writing notes after clinic.
On the record
A contemporaneous note, signed, with the time, the signature and the source it cites.
04
Follow-up

WhatsApp, email and calls land in one thread per patient, with replies drafted in Cantonese, English or Putonghua for your team to approve, complaints included.
WhatsApp, email and calls in one thread per patient, replies drafted in the patient's own language for your team to approve, a response clock on every new enquiry, and recalls a clinician approves.

For patients
A reply in the language they wrote in, approved by your team.
For the business
More enquiries answered within the hour, when they are most likely to book.
On the record
The whole conversation on one record, with response times.
05
Evidence and audit trail

Consent is recorded at booking, and the audit trail gives the exact sequence of events, to the minute, for an incident review.
Recording consent taken at booking, referrals written from the visit, patient flags for controlled drugs and safeguarding notes, and every read of a record logged against a named account.

For patients
Flags and checks in the record at the point of care.
For the business
Incident reviews that start from the audit trail, with times and names.
On the record
Who saw what, who changed what, and when, to the minute.
06
Reporting

Weekly reports on response times, the front desk and takings give the Chief Medical Executive the whole clinic.
Takings, front desk and website reports, response targets, and the patient's own record exportable on request.

For patients
A copy of their record when they ask for it.
For the business
Weekly reports for leaders on response times, the front desk and takings.
On the record
Reports for any period, produced on the day they are asked for.

wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with you before go-live. Prices for clinics, groups and hospitals are on the wai pricing page.

What a well-run clinic gains

Patients answered within the hour, clinicians home on time and diaries that stay full, in published research.

7x
An enquiry answered within the hour is nearly seven times as likely to become a real conversation.⁷
30%
Clinicians using an ambient scribe did 30% less work after hours.⁸
23%
Patients sent a notification before their visit were 23% more likely to attend.⁹

Questions

Does every clinic in Hong Kong need a licence?

Since 13 October 2025, yes, unless it qualifies as a small practice clinic and holds a letter of exemption.²³

How much is a Hong Kong clinic licence?

The application fee is HK$8,840 for up to 5 rooms, HK$9,860 for 6 to 10 and HK$10,900 for more than 10, and it is not refundable.⁴

How long does a clinic licence last?

Up to 5 years, or up to 1 year for a scheduled clinic.⁴ The licensee applies for renewal at least 6 weeks before it expires.⁴

Who can be the Chief Medical Executive of a clinic?

A doctor, or a dentist for a dental clinic, registered in Hong Kong for at least 4 years, who serves no more than 3 clinics and is not also a hospital's Chief Medical Executive.⁴

What must a Hong Kong medical record contain?

At least a unique identifier, the patient's name, gender, date of birth, address and phone, drug allergies, consultation notes, investigations and treatment, and sick leave or referral records where relevant.⁵

Hong Kong regulators and guides

All regulators

Hong Kong in depth

All insights

Opening a specialty clinic in Hong Kong

Every specialty

Opening a clinic elsewhere

Every city

Request a demo for your Hong Kong clinic.

We show wai running a Hong Kong clinic on your own diary, notes and inbox, in a 15 minute video call with our team. wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with you before go-live.