Medical Check Ups

Public Hospital CT/MRI Referrals: Arrangements, Discounts & Fees in 2025

Author Bowtie Team

Updated on 2025-11-17

Disclaimer: This article is translated with the assistance of AI.

Tired of long waits for CT/MRI scans at public hospitals? With a simple referral letter, switch to private clinics for quick, discounted diagnostics and beat the queues. Dive into the perks, costs, and collaborative programs!

Do Hong Kong Public Hospitals Provide CT and MRI Scan Services?

When you feel unwell, the general procedure is to first visit a general outpatient clinic, then get referred to the appropriate specialist outpatient clinic, and if necessary, obtain a referral letter to go to Public Hospitals for CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans.

For example, in the case of ENT (ear, nose, and throat) , the wait time for specialist outpatient clinics has been as long as 80 weeks for stable new cases, and even semi-urgent new cases take 4 to 7 weeks .

According to the Hospital Authority’s Key Performance Indicators Report published in December 2024, which covers the performance metrics for various medical services in public hospitals from January to December 2024, the waiting times for CT and MRI in public hospitals are as follows:

	CT Scan	MRI Scan
Percentage of emergency cases completed within 24 hours	98.9%	97.8%
Median waiting time for emergency cases	2 weeks	3 weeks
Median waiting time for semi-urgent cases	26 weeks	32 weeks
90th percentile waiting time for stable cases	200 weeks	197 weeks

Besides waiting for public healthcare services, public hospitals also offer private medical services for patients who want faster check-ups. The fees for these examinations are as follows:

The cost for a CT scan ranges from $740 – $5,480
The cost for an MRI scan ranges from $3,000 – $20,000

Hong Kong Public Hospital Referral Discounts

Many private medical institutions (clinics and hospitals) in Hong Kong offer government referral discounts, allowing patients to get examinations at discounted prices simply by holding a referral letter.

Institutions such as Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, CUHK Medical Centre, Evangel Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, Kowloon Peninsula Medical Centre, Exact Medical Group, Alpha Medical Diagnostic and Laboratory Center, Trinity Medical Centre, and The Specialists Hong Kong all provide these discounts:

*Hospital/Clinic*	*Discount Offer*
Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong	Up to 45% off
CUHK Medical Centre	30% off
Hong Kong Baptist Hospital	35% off
Union Hospital	30% off
Kowloon Peninsula Medical Centre	Up to 50% off
Exact Medical Group	Up to 30% off
Alpha Medical Diagnostic and Laboratory Center	Up to 40% off
Trinity Medical Centre	Up to 50% off
The Specialists Hong Kong	CT: 25 % off MRI: 30% off

Can Public Hospital Cancer Patients Get Free CT or MRI Scans?

The Hospital Authority’s Public-Private Partnership Radiology Imaging Programme subsidizes eligible cancer patients to receive free CT or MRI scans at private institutions. The service providers include:

Central Medical Diagnostic Centre (Central)
Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road
St. Paul’s Hospital
Alpha Medical Diagnostic Centre (Jordan)
Alpha Medical Diagnostic Centre (Tsim Sha Tsui)
iRad Medical Diagnostic Centre
Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Tsuen Wan
Union Hospital

How to Participate and What is the Process?

Hospital Authority doctors will invite eligible patients to join the program during their consultation and register them on the spot. Patients do not need to apply themselves. Patients can choose a service provider from the Hospital Authority’s list, and the hospital will arrange the referral. The diagnostic results will be sent via an electronic platform to the patient’s public hospital for doctors to plan future treatment.

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Sources

1 Hospital Authority
2 Major private hospitals and medical institutions

Author

Bowtie Team

The Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited is an authorized life insurance company and Hong Kong’s very first virtual insurer approved. Through the use of modern technology and medical expertise, Bowtie offers an agent-free, commission-free and more convenient online platform for customers to quote, apply and claim for Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) anytime anywhere. Bowtie is ranked first in the direct channel sales throughout 2021. Stay up to date at www.bowtie.com.hk