How to Keep Access to Hospital Reports After Leaving China

A report that exists in a hospital app is not necessarily a report you can open from another country six months later. Access may depend on the same Chinese phone number, WeChat account, passport record, patient card, or SMS code used during the visit.

Before leaving the hospital

Open the report section yourself. Confirm which phone number and patient profile it uses. Download completed reports as files rather than relying only on screenshots. For imaging, ask whether the image link expires and whether a separate CD, USB, QR code, or DICOM export is available.

Build a small access record

Hospital, campus, department, doctor, and visit date.
Patient number and exact passport-name format.
Phone number attached to the account.
Official app, mini program, or portal name.
Test order number, barcode, and expected report date.
Records-office and international-department contact routes.

Ask the hospital to move the patient profile to a phone number or account you control. At minimum, obtain every report, receipt, and image link before the relationship ends. A facilitator’s promise to forward documents later is not durable access.

Reports that arrive after departure

Confirm how you will be notified and who will interpret them. Pathology, molecular testing, and specialist imaging review may post days or weeks later. Give the hospital a working contact route, but do not assume a staff member will chase you internationally.

If the portal stops working abroad

Try the official web route, hospital customer service, records office, or an authorized representative. Keep your old phone number active long enough to receive codes if practical. Do not send a passport and full medical history to an unverified account claiming to be hospital support.

When a representative collects records

Hospitals may request the patient’s identification, the representative’s identification, evidence of the relationship or authority, and a signed authorization. Obtain the hospital’s form if it has one. Requirements are stricter for pathology material and full inpatient records.

Store more than one copy

Keep an encrypted cloud copy and an offline copy. Preserve original PDFs and DICOM files. Rename copies for your own organization, but do not overwrite the originals. A translated summary should sit beside the source record, not replace it.

Next: For scans, read how to take the actual images home.

Last reviewed: July 16, 2026. Record-copying, image export, pathology lending, translation, portal access, and authorization procedures vary by hospital. Ask the relevant records, imaging, pathology, or international-patient office what it requires.

Sources checked: National Health Commission rules on medical-record copies and electronic-record access; public pathology lending instructions from Chinese hospitals; overseas continuity-of-care guidance.

Medical disclaimer: This page explains practical document handling. It is not medical, privacy, or legal advice.