Objective: To establish that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is actively promoting Chinese medicine (CM) and to examine turnover rate of Chinese medicine practi-tioners (CMPs) in Hong Kong, China in light of this governmental push.Methods: This study covered two major areas:reviewing CM development in Hong Kong, and assessing the turnover rate of CMPs in Hong Kong. The first part of the paper is a historical review. The investi-gation of turnover rate had two sections. Section 1, quantitative method, involved online questionnaires;Section 2, qualitative method comprised interviews with CMPs from different types of CM clinics to ascertain the reasons for the turnover among CMPs. Results: A total of 123 online questionnaires were received in Section 1 (55 from male CMPs; 66 from female CMPs; 2 respondents were unwilling to disclose their sex). The proportion of CMPs who had resigned in 2018-19 was 22.8％ (28), of whom 5.7％ (7) had resigned twice in one year. The rates of resignation in 3 years and 5 years were up to 40.7％ (50) and 56.9％ (70), respectively. Six CMPs were interviewed in Section 2. Young CMPs were more likely to resign than seniors. The large gap between actual salary and expectations appeared to be the main reason for the high rate of resignation. Conclusion: HKSAR government keenly desires to promote CM in Hong Kong, however, high turnover rate of CMPs was detected even under this positive governmental support. There is an urgent need to conduct a more representative study of the reasons for the inclination of CMPs in Hong Kong. The study highlights an important issue in CM development, and these results should remind different stake-holders in the CM industry and the government that CMPs need better career prospects and support in various areas.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiological data on elderly patients attending Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs) in Hong Kong is lacking. The study aimed to examine the epidemiology of geriatric patient visits to AEDs in Hong Kong, including demographic data and predictors of life-saving interventions (LSI) and admission. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of geriatric patients older than 64 years old attending three AEDs during the year 2012, with a sample of 1200 patient visits recruited. The data were retrieved from the medical records of the respective hospitals. Descriptive characteristics of the visits were provided. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the predictors of LSI and hospital admission. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 79.1 years. Totally 49.7％ of the patients were male. "Diseases of the respiratory system" was the commonest diagnosis in AEDs as well as that required admission. The admission rate was 56.8％. Logistic regression demonstrated that dependent activity of daily living (ADL), arrival by ambulance, and the higher number of co-morbidities were predictors of LSI, while advanced age, dependent ADL, institutionalized patients, arrival by ambulance, and higher number of co-morbidities were predictors of hospital admission. CONCLUSIONS: Ageing population is creating an imminent burden on the emergency service in Hong Kong. Previously unavailable epidemiological information about geriatric attendance to AEDs was described. This forms the basis for development of future studies concerning the medical services on this specific group of patients.