Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow will visit Switzerland, France and the UK April 19 to 24 to inspect their healthcare systems.

He will call on the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health in Bern tomorrow and speak with officials on the regulation of health insurance products and premiums.

The next day he will visit the Secretariat of the Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Ministers of Public Health to learn more about the implementation of health insurance and healthcare financing.

He will meet one of the larger mandatory healthcare insurers and visit the world-renowned University Hospital, which is also a teaching hospital and a centre for research and training.

During his stay in Paris on April 21, Dr Chow will meet officials of the French National Health Insurance Fund For Salaried Workers where he will be briefed on the country's healthcare insurance fund and its reform, and its financing system. He will also visit the Georges Pompidou European Hospital and tour the Institut Pasteur.

On April 24, Dr Chow will visit the Food Standards Agency in London and then address a luncheon for British business leaders and update them on Hong Kong's situation, particularly in health.

The secretary will meet Minister of State for Health Services Rosie Winterton before returning to Hong Kong on April 25.