When Your Doctor Back Home Cannot Read Chinese Medical Records: How to Request English Documents in Advance

Before leaving China, ask the doctor who will take over your care back home which documents they need. Then apply to the hospital where you received care for copies of your Chinese medical records, and ask whether it can provide an English clinical summary. If the hospital does not provide English documents, arrange translation according to the receiving provider’s requirements. Give the receiving doctor the Chinese records, English summary, and translations together, and confirm that they can open the files and know which results are still pending. If files will not open or you cannot log in from abroad, contact the original hospital to confirm alternative delivery methods. Also discuss with the receiving doctor how to continue your care using the records already available.

Key Points

• Copies of Chinese medical records, an English summary issued by the hospital, and a third-party translation are different documents. First ask the receiving provider which they need. A hospital’s ability to communicate in English does not mean it provides English medical records.
• A summary helps the receiving doctor understand your care, but that doctor decides whether it is sufficient. Prepare reports, images, and treatment records relevant to your care.
• If your records are not yet complete, ask whether you can obtain copies of the completed portions first and how to collect later results. Before leaving the hospital, agree on who will follow up and when.

Confirm the Required Documents with the Receiving Provider First

Contact the department that will care for you back home. Explain when you received care and when your next appointment is scheduled. Ask them to list the required documents, language, format, and submission method. In particular, clarify whether they need original imaging files, supplementary pathology reports, or a summary signed by a doctor, and who will confirm that the files have been received and can be read. If you also need to make an insurance claim, separately ask your insurer about invoices, itemized charges, diagnosis certificates, and any requirements for stamps, signatures, or certified translations.

Which Documents to Request from the Hospital

Tell your treating doctor or ward team about your plans to continue care back home. Ask the doctor to help identify the relevant records, and ask whether sealed documents or post-anesthesia recovery records are needed to meet the receiving provider’s requirements. Select from the following list as appropriate, and note the reason for any missing items:

• Outpatient, admission, and discharge records, diagnoses, and the course of care; surgery, procedure, and anesthesia records, if applicable.
• Pathology and supplementary test reports, laboratory results with units and reference ranges, imaging reports, and any original imaging files required by the receiving provider, such as DICOM files.
• A current medication list: generic drug names, doses, routes of administration, instructions for use, frequency, purpose, and treatment duration; information about allergies, blood transfusions, and implants, if applicable. Ask a doctor or pharmacist to check this.
• Follow-up dates, pending results, plans for repeat tests or examinations, and symptoms that require prompt contact with a doctor.

If pathology results or tests sent to an outside laboratory are still pending, clarify when results are expected, which doctor will explain them, how to obtain them after returning home, and how to deliver them to the receiving doctor. Do not postpone clinical care on your own solely to wait for a translation. If your next appointment is approaching, ask the doctors on both sides to confirm how to hand over the records already available.

How to Obtain Copies of Chinese Medical Records or Authorize Someone to Collect Them

Ask the medical records department, outpatient service desk, or international medical department which office handles each type of record at that hospital site, when records are filed, whether completed portions can be copied first, how to collect them, and what fees apply. Provide your name, patient or inpatient number, department, dates, required documents, intended use, and collection method. Check that the spelling of your name in the hospital’s records matches your identity document. Keep the application receipt.

The National Health Commission’s medical records management regulations state that patients or their authorized representatives may apply to copy or view records through the prescribed procedure. Patients must provide valid proof of identity. Representatives must also provide valid identity documents for both the patient and themselves, legal documents establishing the representative relationship, and a letter of authorization. Confirm with the hospital in advance which forms of identification and authorization documents it accepts, and its procedures for mailing records or obtaining them from abroad. The records listed as available for copying include discharge records, surgery and anesthesia records, pathology and laboratory reports, and medical imaging examination materials. Copying fees may be charged as permitted by the regulations. After both parties confirm that the copies are correct, the medical institution stamps them to certify them.[1]

For example, Zhejiang Hospital’s published online process requires the patient’s identity card number and mobile phone number to match those registered to the patient’s hospital card. Applicants may choose express delivery or another appointment type, and different recipients must submit different identity documents.[2] Ask that hospital directly whether foreign identity documents can be used, whether it delivers overseas, and what the current fees are. Do not assume that other hospitals follow the same process.

How to Arrange an English Summary or Translation

Ask your treating doctor or the international medical department: “Can you provide an English summary for a doctor abroad to continue my treatment? What will it include, who will sign or stamp it, how much will it cost, and when can I collect it?” Also ask whether report translation is available. Shanghai Yida Hospital’s published admission and discharge guide states that a translator prepares a discharge summary in both Chinese and English at discharge billing. This describes one hospital’s service; before using it, confirm which departments it covers, the fees, and the delivery time.[3]

If the hospital does not provide the English documents you need, obtain the Chinese records first, then find a medical translator who meets the receiving provider’s requirements. Ask the receiving provider in advance whether it requires specific qualifications, certification, or notarization. Confirm the cost, completion date, confidentiality arrangements, and delivery method. A translation renders the original text into another language. If you need a clinical summary or certificate issued by a doctor, request it separately from the doctor. Ask the translator to identify the corresponding source document and page numbers, the translator or agency, and the date. If the original is illegible, this should be marked rather than guessed.

When you receive the documents, compare them item by item with the Chinese originals: names, dates, diagnoses and left or right side, positive or negative findings, drug names and doses, decimal points, units, pathology findings, and wording that expresses uncertainty. Ask a doctor or pharmacist qualified to check the medical content to help. If you suspect an error in the original record, ask the hospital about its correction procedure; do not correct only the translation.

Complete the Handover Before Leaving the Hospital

Label each document with its date, language, and type: a copy of the hospital’s Chinese record, a hospital-issued English summary, or a third-party translation. Keep the Chinese records and original imaging files, and send the necessary portions as requested by the receiving provider. First verify the recipient and a secure transfer method. Do not send medical records to public chats or public translation tools. Ask who at the translation service or other recipient organizations can access the records, how long they will keep them, and how to request deletion.

Try opening the imaging files on a device, check the name, examination date, and body part, and ask the receiving department to confirm that it can read them. Keep backup copies that the hospital permits you to retain. A working file link does not mean the doctor has received the files or reviewed the images. Record which results are still missing, who will follow up, and when to contact them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must every hospital provide a complete set of medical records in English?

National regulations provide a procedure for copying or viewing medical records. They do not establish that every hospital will provide a complete set of English medical records. Ask separately about English summaries and translation services.[1]

Can a family member collect the records for me?

Ask the hospital which methods it accepts for authorizing someone to act on your behalf. Being a relative does not replace the required proof of identity, representative relationship, and authorization. For a minor or a patient who cannot give authorization, confirm with the hospital which guardianship or representation documents are required.[1]

Is an English discharge summary alone enough?

The receiving doctor decides. Complex treatment or a second opinion may also require pathology reports, test results, surgery records, and original imaging files. Ask the receiving provider for a list first.

What if the pathology results are only available after I return home?

Contact the hospital staff member agreed on before you left. Confirm whether the report is the final version and how to obtain it and have it explained. If someone will collect it on your behalf, provide the identity and authorization documents required by the hospital, then pass the report to your doctor back home.

What if the hospital only gives me a photo of the imaging report?

Ask the radiology department how to obtain the original files required by the receiving provider and what they cost, and ask the receiving department to try opening them. Pathology slides or paraffin blocks have separate requirements for borrowing and transport. First consult the pathology departments at both the receiving hospital and the original hospital; do not mail them on your own.

Does a stamped translation always qualify for an insurance claim or visa application?

There is no universal rule. Before commissioning a translation, ask the specific insurer or receiving authority which translator qualifications, forms of certification, and other supporting documents it accepts. Keep the Chinese source documents.

What if my name or diagnosis is incorrect in an English document?

First check your name against your identity document and the hospital’s registration information. Ask the original hospital or the translator, as appropriate, to check the clinical content. If there is a question about the original Chinese record, ask the hospital about its correction procedure and notify the receiving provider of the updated version.

Sources

1. National Health Commission: Regulations on the Management of Medical Records in Medical Institutions (2013 Edition), Articles 17–23, checked on 2026-11-06.
2. Zhejiang Hospital: Online Application Process for Requesting Medical Record Copies, checked on 2026-11-06; subject to the hospital’s application requirements at the time.
3. Shanghai Yida Hospital: End-to-End Admission and Discharge Guide, checked on 2026-11-06.