The Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme will further extend its coverage to people aged 50 to 75 starting January 1 next year, the Department of Health announced today.

The programme, which was regularised in August last year, is implemented in three phases to subsidise asymptomatic Hong Kong residents.

The first and second phases cover people aged 61 to 75 and those aged 56 to 75, while the last phase extends to people aged 50 to 75.

Participants are required to attend a medical consultation by an enrolled primary care doctor to receive a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening.

A government subsidy of $280 per consultation applies including the follow-up consultation on a positive test result.

Under the standard colonoscopy service package, the subsidy amount is $8,500 if polyp removal is necessary and $7,800 if no polyps are removed.

More than 190 colonoscopy specialists have joined the programme and may charge a co-payment not exceeding $1,000 when providing standard colonoscopy exams.

To date, more than 770 doctors have enrolled in the programme and 97% of them will not charge a co-payment.

More than 166,000 people have participated in the programme.

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