e-Bulletin July 2026
EVENT SNIPPETS |
Seminar by Professor Eric Finkelstein
The Economics and Psychology of End-of-life Care
On June 16, 2026, our School and its Health Aging Collaboration Hub led by Professor Jane Zhao, co-organised a seminar titled “The Economics and Psychology of End-of-life Care” featuring Professor Eric Finkelstein, Professor of Health Economics, Health Services Research and Population Health at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and the Duke University Global Health Institute, as well as Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. Held at the HKU medical campus, the event saw an in-person participation of over 60 attendees.
The event commenced with opening remarks from Professor Hui-Ling Yen, Interim Director and Professor of our School. Professor Finkelstein unpacked the powerful economic and non-economic drivers pushing the over-medicalisation of death and dying. Drawing on his work for the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death, he shed light on why overtreatment at the end of life is rising globally, and how we can better align medical systems with what matters most to patients. He also addressed persistent inequities, noting that patients from poor or uninsured households are frequently underserved and systematically report lower quality-of- care scores.
The subsequent Q&A session was moderated by Professor Jacqueline Yuen, Clinical Assistant Professor from the HKU Department of Medicine, who also holds a joint appointment at our School. The session sparked meaningful engagement and dialogue with the audience on the current challenges and opportunities in end-of-life care.
