Medical (and one PC) questions!

Hi all,

I just had some general questions about HK. I am looking at moving there and wanted to know a few basic things. I am currently living in Australia and previously lived in Japan for 8 years. So will be comparing to those two countries mainly.


1. What’s the quality of the medical profession? Is it up to western (i.e. Australia, USA and UK) standard? For example Japanese medical profession is abysmal compared to Australia.


2. How does the system work? Do they have GPs who deal with most things and refer you to a specialist if needed (as Australia) or do you not have any GPs and deal with specialists directly (like Japan)?


3. Is there a particular medical centre or hospital foreigners go to?


4. Anyone had issues getting any medicine they needed as opposed to their home country. For example there were a few meds not available in Japan vs. Australia and none of the “brands” existed in Japan at all (including big pharmaceutical brands).


Finally one non medical question. In terms of buying tech goods (mainly computer parts) is there any web based “shopping” aggregator or any particular online HK store people would recommend. An example is this one (http://www.staticice.com.au/) in Australia which searches for the cheapest prices for various tech items.


Thanks in advance.

Web stores for computer parts are a lost cause in HK. I have tried. There's nothing like Newegg.com or even close. I would say you have the following options:

- Golden Computer Arcade in Kowloon. Biggest and least "formal". Downstairs is the more geeky stuff.

- Computer Zone on 298 Hennessy Road. Like GCA but about 1/6 the size. Nice shop on top floor sells some silent PC stuff like heatsinks and such. It looks quite unimposing from the street.

- The Wan Chai Computer Centre, also on Hennessy Road by the Wan Chai MTR. A bit bigger than Computer Zone but somewhat higher prices and a more "mainstream" feel.

Thanks AXP. I have visited the Wan Chai when I was holidaying there last year. Not as good as akihabara but better then most stores in Australia. Though Australia PC stores are pretty much web based.

HK medical services is a combination of public and private systems. HK medical establishment is basically British. (in that sense it must be closer to Australia than Japan. There are many Australian and Ausi trained doctors in the private sector.) There are a number of public hospitals. The public health system is practically free for HK residents. However, the public hospitals are over worked, and crowded. You don't want to use them for minor ailments. However, if you need major surgery, the public hospital critical care units are better than the private sector.

The private care sector is similar to the United States. (I never lived in Australia.) Who you go to see depends very much on the type(s) of insurance you may have. If your insurance requires GP recommendation to see a specialist than that's the way you go. I have heard there are over 11 thousand doctors in private practice in HK, so you have plenty of choices. There are also a small number of private hospitals. Sanitorium, Matilda, Canoza, Adventist, etc. They have good facilities, but generally do not handle critical illness.

Overall, HK health care is advanced country standard. Among advance countries, one's impression of quality of care usually depend on who you know and where you go more than the actual level of medical competence of the country. Japan's medical reputation is pretty good. It is possible you had a bad experience due to language barrier. (you won't have that problem in HK. HK medical schools teach in English.)

The WCCC is ok for "normal" stuff, but I would say Golden Computer Arcade and ComputerZone are more oriented towards the true computer geek.


"Though Australia PC stores are pretty much web based."


Like in the US then. I have often remarked on this board that in the US I could find pretty much any part, not matter how obscure. In HK I am at the mercy of the shopkeepers. For example, it took me several days to weed out the one store that carries a fanless power supply. This is of course also the case for non computer related stuff.