Booking a Hospital Appointment in China with a Passport: Checking Patient Registration, Appointment Booking, and Check-in

Once you have chosen a hospital and outpatient clinic, confirm which identity documents and booking channels the hospital accepts. Bring the patient’s own passport and appointment confirmation to the specified campus, and complete patient registration, appointment number collection, and check-in as required by the hospital. Each hospital may combine or separate these steps. If you do not understand a status shown on the screen, ask staff to confirm the next step.

Key Points

• Use the patient’s own information for their patient record. If you cannot enter the name in the required order, with spaces, or with special characters, ask the hospital for guidance first. Do not change the name yourself.
• Appointment confirmation, proof of appointment registration and payment, and check-in results may be separate records. Ask whether you still need to collect an appointment number, pay, or check in at the clinic area.
• Before paying, check the hospital, campus, department, clinic type, doctor, and date. Record the hospital medical record number or patient card details so the record can be found next time.
• If passport details or previous medical records do not match, ask the hospital to look them up and guide you through corrections. Do not create another patient record yourself or use someone else’s identity to receive care.

Confirm Whether You Can Use a Passport Before Booking

Contact the hospital’s official booking service or the department you plan to visit. Explain whether this is a first or follow-up visit for a patient using a passport, and ask:

1. Does this campus and clinic accept passports? Can passport details be entered through the online channel? If not, where and when can staff process them?
2. At which stages are the patient record created, the appointment booked, payment made, and the appointment number collected on the day? Is the original passport required?
3. What kind of mobile phone number is needed to receive verification codes or notifications? If you do not have a usable number, what alternatives does the hospital accept?
4. Confirm the specific campus, clinic type, fees, and payment methods. If you need language assistance, ask whether it is available, how to arrange it, and what it costs.

The Shanghai Municipal Government’s guide to seeing a doctor explains how to add a patient and select a hospital, department, and doctor in “Suishenban.” The page does not state whether this booking option supports foreign identity documents. Check the platform’s and target hospital’s current instructions for the actual interface, available hospitals, and identity document requirements. When choosing a hospital, you can first consult the hospital comparison guide and hospital directory. Preparing a medical summary and asking a hospital to accept you for care are separate steps. After submitting information or receiving a reply, you still need to confirm whether a specific outpatient appointment has been booked.

Create or Retrieve a Patient Record

For a first visit, enter the patient’s name, date of birth, identity document type and number, and other details as required by the hospital. Use the passport as the basis for the name, and ask the hospital to confirm the required name order and any system restrictions. The patient’s identity must not be replaced with that of a companion or interpreter.

Have you visited the same hospital or one of its other campuses before? First tell staff the name, identity document, and medical record number used previously, and ask them to check whether they can find the original record. Do not assume that different campuses share the same number, and do not create a second record yourself to get through the system. If the system finds two records, ask the hospital’s registration or medical records staff to confirm how they should be verified, linked, or corrected.

Once registration is complete, check the name, date of birth, and identity document number. Record the medical record number, patient card, or electronic credential provided by the hospital. Provide sensitive information, such as identity document numbers, only through channels approved by the hospital.

Check the Clinic Details and Complete Appointment Registration

Choose the department and clinic type recommended by the hospital. If you do not know which department to book, explain the problem you want addressed to the hospital’s triage desk and ask staff for guidance. Before paying, check:

• The patient’s own name and identity document details;
• The hospital, campus, department, and clinic type;
• The doctor’s name, if specified, and the date and time slot;
• The fee, payment method, and whether you need to collect an appointment number or make a further payment at the hospital.

If you are using private health insurance, confirm separately with the hospital and insurer whether the registration fee can be billed directly or whether you must pay first and claim reimbursement, and which documents you need to keep. If a coordinator asks you to transfer money to a personal account, first verify the payment recipient and appointment status through the hospital’s official channels, then decide how to pay.

Save the appointment confirmation page or message when you receive it. If the hospital requires a separate registration fee, pay through its specified channel and keep proof showing what the payment covers. Whether you have submitted an appointment request, received a reply, or paid, check the status provided by the hospital to confirm that you have secured a specific outpatient appointment. Do not assume that all steps are complete based on any one of these actions alone.

Collect Your Appointment Number and Check In at the Hospital

Go to the campus specified in your appointment details, bringing the patient’s own passport and appointment confirmation. Also bring any previous patient card and other materials required by the hospital. The Shanghai Municipal Government guide lists a passport among the documents needed to register for an appointment at local hospitals and notes that first-time patients may receive a medical record card. Follow the target hospital’s instructions on the actual documents required and where to complete the process.[1]

After arriving, collect your appointment number, pay, or verify your identity as instructed. Then go to the specified clinic area and ask: “Am I already in today’s waiting queue? Where else do I need to check in?” The hospital may require check-in by phone, at a self-service machine, or at the nurses’ desk, or it may have been completed automatically. Ask staff to show you where to wait and explain how patients are called. If the hospital provides a queue number, keep it and watch or listen for your number. Your appointment time may differ from the time you are actually called.

If your appointment cannot be found, show the appointment confirmation and the patient’s identity document. Ask the hospital to check the campus, date, department, name, and identity document number, and confirm whether the record is held at that campus. Ask staff whether an appointment is still available and whether you need to book again. Do not make another payment on your own.

What to Do If You Find an Error

If the identity, campus, department, or doctor is incorrect, contact the registration counter, service desk, or booking service before the consultation. Explain what does not match, and ask the hospital to confirm whether it can be corrected, cancelled, or booked again, and how any fees will be handled. Keep the original confirmation or receipt and the outcome. If the record belongs to someone else, ask the hospital to correct it before continuing with care.

What to Keep After Your Visit

Keep appointment and registration confirmations, payment receipts, outpatient records, and test results provided by the hospital. Record the hospital name, campus, patient’s name, and medical record number so the hospital can find the record at follow-up visits. If someone else helps with the process, make sure the patient can access the appointment information and medical documents, and knows how to log in to or recover the account. Do not send account passwords or verification codes to people who are not involved. Before providing identity documents or medical records, confirm who will receive them and for what purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I register at the hospital without an appointment?

First ask the target hospital whether appointments are available on site, which clinics offer them, and when registration is open. Some clinics may have no same-day appointments. Arriving in person does not guarantee that you will be seen.

What should I do if the system does not accept my passport or name?

Stop making repeated attempts and contact the hospital’s official service desk. Ask whether there is a channel that supports passports or a staffed counter. Tell staff about the error message, the identity document type, and the hospital’s requirements. Do not make up an identity document number or arbitrarily shorten the name.

Can I use a companion’s mobile phone number?

First ask the hospital or platform whether this is allowed, who will receive verification codes and notifications, and how the patient can recover the account later. Whichever phone number is used, the patient record and appointment information must belong to the patient.

How can I find my old records after renewing my passport?

Bring the new passport and any available old identity document details, previous medical record number, or other supporting documents. First ask the hospital to find the original record and guide you through updating it. The hospital must confirm whether the original old passport is required and how the records should be linked.

What should I do if I will be late or cannot attend my appointment?

Contact the booking service or hospital as soon as possible. Ask whether your appointment will be held, whether you can reschedule or cancel, and how fees will be handled. Rules may differ between clinics. Keep the cancellation or change confirmation.

What should I do if the doctor cancels the clinic or I go to the wrong campus?

Contact the booking service or the target hospital’s service desk to confirm arrangements for a replacement doctor, rescheduling, or a refund. Do not register again at another campus on your own before resolving the original appointment.

Can I go straight into the consultation room after my appointment is confirmed?

Read the hospital’s instructions first, then confirm that you have collected your appointment number, paid, and checked in. Wait in the specified waiting area until you are called. Appointment confirmation alone may not prove that you are in that day’s queue.

Should I still wait for my appointment if my symptoms suddenly become severe or worsen quickly?

Seek local emergency medical help promptly. Do not delay care while waiting for a routine outpatient appointment. Follow local medical professionals’ instructions for specific emergency care.

Sources

1. Shanghai Municipal Government: How to see a doctor at a local hospital, covering passports, appointment registration, medical record cards, and an example of booking through “Suishenban”; accessed 2026-11-06.
2. Shanghai Municipal Government: Appointment Booking Through Health Cloud for People from Outside Mainland China (Trial), a platform example from 2020; current procedures should be reconfirmed; accessed 2026-11-06.
3. Shanghai Municipal Government: Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of International Medical Services in Shanghai, setting out policy directions for easier passport use, appointment booking, and multilingual services; this does not mean every hospital has implemented them; accessed 2026-11-06.