New law on private medical institutions approved, ‘day hospitals’ now allowed

The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed the new law on Tuesday evening to amend the regulations governing the operation of private medical institutions in Macau.

The law was approved by the lawmakers on its final reading by a unanimous vote and will take effect on December 1 this year.

Among several specific provisions, the new law divides the medical institutions into three categories (instead of two). The new category added by the new law concerns the creation and operation of day hospitals, which join the existing “hospitals” and “clinics.”

With the creation of the new category, the law also introduces a new “one-stop” licensing and approval mechanism to facilitate the licensing of the new type of medical establishments, reducing bureaucratic procedures and repeated inspections across different bureaus.

At the AL plenary meeting, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, O Lam, pointed out that the main characteristic of the law is to provide legal support for the development of clinical medicine, advanced therapies, and outreach medical services, which, she said, “will create more new opportunities for the development of the medical industry,” and, consequently, align with the policy of develop Big Health in Macau.

O Lam noted that the creation of “day hospitals” will enable the medical industry to easily develop and provide a wider range of services to both locals and, mostly, visitors, which, in turn, will make Macau an “excellent health and wellness destination.”

At the plenary, despite voting in favor of the law’s approval, several lawmakers expressed concerns about the potential competition that day hospitals could pose to the hospitals.

On the topic, O Lam said that different types of medical institutions have distinct roles and service ranges. She said to believe the different types will offer complementary services rather than compete.

She said that day hospitals would primarily provide specialist outpatient services and medical aesthetics services that bridge the gap between beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery.