It is with immense pride and great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2025 Primary Care Conference to be held from July 11-13, 2025 at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Building, Aberdeen, Hong Kong. For over a decade, this signature annual conference is a testament of the enduring spirit of collaboration, versatility and innovation that unites us as leaders in Family Medicine and Primary Healthcare in our community.

This year’s conference, under the theme, “Family Doctor in Partnership: Synergizing Primary Care Outcomes” builds on the great stride forward in primary healthcare development with the recent establishment of the Primary Healthcare Commission in July 2024, emphasizing the government’s strong commitment to revamp the healthcare system towards a prevention-focused, community-based system and devoting more resources to promote primary healthcare. One of the key reform initiatives of our government was the launching of the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) in 2023, with the view to establish a family doctor regime and position the District Health Centers (DHCs) as a hub in fostering an expansion of the healthcare network at community level. Further to the 2024 HKSAR Chief Executive’s health policy address to advance primary healthcare development, the Health Bureau (HHB) announced in late January 2025 the integration of the Department of Health’s (DH's) existing women's health services into the district health network and upgrading more interim District Health Centers Express (DHCEs) to District Health Centers (DHCs), along with the extension of a multidisciplinary service network. At the end of March 2025, the Health Bureau (HHB) and the Hospital Authority announced a plan to reform public healthcare fees to rationalise the current imbalance in public healthcare services, encourage patients to seek appropriate healthcare services, and enhance the sustainable development of Hong Kong's healthcare services. Over the years, our College has always been an active advocate for “Family Doctor for all” as local and international studies have shown that healthcare systems with strong primary healthcare teams led by Family Doctors have proven to be more cost effective and sustainable. Thus, it is indeed a great opportunity for Family Doctors to work closely in partnership with stakeholders of different sectors in embarking on this challenging journey towards synergizing primary care outcomes in Hong Kong.

As always, this hallmark event will continue to engage you with inspiring plenary sessions, interesting seminars, dynamic workshops, and thought-provoking discussion forums among many others. This event serves as a rich milieu in fostering academic exchanges and networking opportunities among the primary care community.

Once again, I thank you for your dedication and contribution in making this conference a success. I believe that this conference will continue to inspire new partnerships, strengthen collaboration and reinforce shared commitments in advancing quality primary healthcare in our community.