Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions about our services and processes.
Can foreigners receive treatment at public hospitals in China?
Yes. Foreign patients can receive outpatient consultations, diagnostic testing, surgery, inpatient care, and other medical services at legitimate Chinese public hospitals.
Beijing’s official medical guide for foreigners currently lists international medical services at major public hospitals including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Fuwai Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, and Peking University People’s Hospital. Shanghai’s official international medical platform also lists many public hospitals that provide services to international patients.
The more important question is not:
“Can foreigners use public hospitals?”
It is:
“Should I use the regular outpatient system or the International Medical Department?”
Regular outpatient departments usually have larger patient volumes and systems designed mainly for local Chinese patients, so they may require greater familiarity with Chinese-language registration, hospital apps, and payment procedures.
International Medical Departments are often easier for first-time foreign patients because appointment coordination, language support, patient navigation, and international insurance assistance may be more accessible, although the cost is generally higher.
If you are traveling to China specifically for complex treatment, it is better not to arrive at a major public hospital with only your passport and then try to find the right department. Confirm in advance:
whether the hospital accepts international patients, which department you need, and whether you should use the regular outpatient system or the International Medical Department.
What is the difference between public hospitals, International Medical Departments, and private hospitals in China?
The biggest difference is usually not that one type is automatically “medically better.” The main differences are:
clinical resources, service model, language environment, appointment convenience, and cost structure.
Large public hospitals usually have broad specialty networks and often manage large numbers of complex, difficult, and critically ill patients.
International Medical Departments are commonly located within major public hospitals. Patients may still use the same hospital’s specialists, operating rooms, imaging, pathology, ICU, and other clinical resources, while appointment coordination, language support, patient navigation, room options, and payment procedures are more tailored to international patients.
Private or international hospitals often offer faster appointments, more consistent English-language support, a more comfortable environment, and greater privacy. However, whether they are suitable for a complex condition depends on whether that particular hospital has the necessary specialty team, physicians, and critical-care capability.
Shanghai’s official international medical platform currently lists both public institutions and foreign-funded/international medical facilities, reflecting that these different service models coexist rather than one category automatically being superior to another.
The better question is:
“Which type of medical setting is most appropriate for my condition?”
rather than:
“Which type of hospital is the most prestigious?”
What does “Grade III Level A hospital” mean in China, and is it always better?
“Grade III Level A” refers to a top-tier classification within China’s hospital evaluation system.
The National Health Commission’s 2025 tertiary hospital evaluation standards assess areas including clinical service capability, medical quality and safety, and hospital management, while emphasizing the role of tertiary hospitals in treating critical, severe, difficult, and complex conditions.
However, patients often make one important mistake:
“If it is a Grade III Level A hospital, it must be the best hospital for every disease.”
That is not true.
The designation reflects the overall capability and evaluation level of the hospital, not that every department is the strongest in the country.
For example, a large Grade III Level A hospital may be:
- exceptionally strong in cardiovascular medicine;
- while you need treatment for a rare bone tumor;
- and another specialist hospital may actually have a more suitable team for your case.
For an international patient, Grade III Level A status can be one screening factor, but it should not be the only factor.
The next question should be:
“For my exact disease, which department, physician, and clinical team at this hospital would actually manage my case?”
There are so many hospitals in China. How do I know which one is actually strong in treating my condition?
Do not begin by asking:
“What is the best hospital in China?”
Start by asking:
“Which specialty and subspecialty actually manage my condition?”
For example, “cancer” is far too broad.
Lung cancer, lymphoma, liver cancer, osteosarcoma, and brain tumors require very different clinical teams.
When deciding whether a hospital is suitable for your case, look at factors such as:
- whether it has the relevant specialty and subspecialty;
- whether the physicians regularly manage cases like yours;
- whether it offers the surgery, medication, or treatment technology you may need;
- whether pathology and imaging can be reviewed;
- whether multidisciplinary team review can be arranged;
- whether ICU and other supporting specialties are available if complications occur;
- whether follow-up can continue after treatment.
Shanghai’s official international medical platform itself highlights different institutions for different areas such as oral medicine, orthopedics, gastroenterology, cardiovascular care, obstetrics and gynecology, and reproductive medicine, illustrating that hospitals have different specialty strengths.
A better selection process is therefore:
disease → subspecialty → clinical team → hospital.
Not:
choose Beijing or Shanghai → choose the most famous hospital → find any doctor there.
Should I choose the hospital first or the doctor first?
For routine outpatient care, choosing the hospital first and then selecting a doctor is often reasonable.
However, for conditions such as:
- cancer;
- complex surgery;
- rare diseases;
- neurosurgery;
- cardiac surgery;
- transplant-related assessment;
- or other high-risk treatment,
you should evaluate the physician and the hospital together.
Even an outstanding physician does not deliver the entire treatment alone.
The doctor still depends on hospital resources such as:
- anesthesia;
- operating rooms;
- pathology;
- imaging;
- ICU;
- pharmacy;
- nursing;
- and consultations from other specialties.
Conversely, even a famous hospital may not be appropriate if you choose the wrong department or physician.
A more useful sequence is:
identify the disease and subspecialty → identify the right physician/team → confirm that the hospital where the team works has the full clinical resources required.
For complex cases, the doctor and hospital should be evaluated as one clinical system.
If a hospital is famous overall, does that mean the department I need is also strong?
Not necessarily.
A large hospital’s reputation often comes from several particularly strong specialties rather than every department performing at the same level.
For example, a hospital may be especially famous for:
- cardiovascular medicine;
- neurosurgery;
- hematology;
but if your condition is in an entirely different field, another hospital with less overall name recognition may actually be a better fit.
China has also continued to develop national clinical key specialties and more specialized subspecialty services, which itself reflects the need to evaluate medical capability at the specialty level rather than relying only on the hospital’s overall name.
The more useful questions are:
Which department at this hospital treats my disease?
Does that department have a subspecialty specifically relevant to my condition?
Which physician or team regularly manages cases like mine?
A hospital’s brand can help with initial screening, but it cannot replace case-specific matching.
Does a senior title or famous reputation mean a doctor is the best fit for my case?
Not necessarily.
Titles such as “chief physician,” “professor,” or “department director” can reflect seniority, position, or academic background, but they do not by themselves prove:
that this doctor is the best fit for your specific case.
There can be highly specialized divisions even within the same department.
For example, within one oncology department:
- one physician may mainly treat lung cancer;
- another may focus on lymphoma;
- another may specialize in gastrointestinal cancers;
- another may mainly treat breast cancer.
If all you know is:
“oncology specialist, chief physician, professor,”
that is not enough.
What really matters is:
how closely the physician’s actual clinical focus matches your disease.
For a complex condition, a physician whose subspecialty is highly relevant and who regularly manages cases like yours may be more suitable than a more famous doctor whose main field is different.
How can I tell whether a doctor regularly treats patients with cases similar to mine?
Do not rely only on a line in a doctor’s profile saying:
“specializes in difficult and complex diseases.”
That description is too broad.
You can evaluate the fit in several ways:
First, look at the subspecialty.
Does the doctor’s main clinical focus genuinely match your condition?
Second, look at the clinical team.
Does the department routinely manage this type of disease?
Third, look at what the doctor focuses on during the case review.
A physician who is genuinely familiar with the condition will often quickly focus on key issues such as:
- the exact pathology subtype;
- disease stage;
- previous treatments;
- why a prior line of treatment failed;
- important genetic or molecular findings;
- whether the patient is physically able to tolerate the next treatment.
Fourth, look at the reasoning.
Does the doctor simply say, “You can come for treatment,” or can the doctor explain why the case is worth further assessment?
A preliminary case review is therefore also a way to evaluate physician-patient fit.
Antu’s role should not be limited to showing patients doctor biographies. The case should first be organized and then reviewed by a genuinely relevant clinical team so that suitability can be assessed.
How can I verify online claims that a doctor is a “top” or “leading” specialist?
Do not treat marketing terms such as “top specialist,” “number one doctor,” or “leading authority” as medical facts.
Start with the hospital’s official channels and verify:
- whether the doctor actually practices at that hospital;
- which department the doctor belongs to;
- the physician’s clinical focus;
- whether there is an actual consultation schedule;
- whether the doctor sees patients through regular outpatient care, premium clinics, or the International Medical Department.
Then determine whether the physician’s clinical focus actually matches your condition.
Be especially cautious in situations where:
a third-party website claims it can book a famous specialist, but the hospital’s official information does not show the doctor or any corresponding consultation schedule.
Beijing’s official medical guide for foreigners currently provides international medical service and appointment information for numerous hospitals. Official government and hospital channels are generally more appropriate than purely promotional websites for verifying basic information about doctors and institutions.
Before recommending a doctor, Antu should therefore try to confirm:
physician identity + hospital affiliation + clinical focus + actual appointment availability.
Can I request a specific doctor, or will the hospital assign one?
In many cases, you can request a specific physician, especially if you book a specialist consultation in advance.
However, it is important to distinguish between:
“I booked this particular doctor for my consultation”
and
“This doctor will personally perform every part of my future treatment.”
Those are not the same thing.
Large hospitals commonly use team-based care.
You may:
- have the first consultation personally with the specialist;
- be managed by that specialist’s clinical team after admission;
- receive daily ward care from other physicians;
- have the senior specialist make the key treatment decisions;
- and undergo surgery performed by a broader surgical team.
If you are traveling internationally specifically to see one physician, confirm before booking:
Will this doctor personally conduct my first consultation?
If I am admitted, what role will this doctor have in my treatment team?
If surgery is required, is this doctor expected to participate, and in what role?
That is much more meaningful than simply confirming that a specialist appointment has been booked.
If I book a well-known specialist, could another doctor from the team end up seeing me?
Yes, it is possible, so it is better to clarify this in advance.
A doctor may become unavailable because of:
- an urgent or unexpected surgery;
- emergency clinical duties;
- a conference;
- travel;
- or a change in the outpatient schedule.
In addition, even if the specialist personally conducts the first consultation, later tasks such as:
- medical-history review;
- inpatient management;
- daily ward rounds;
- test coordination
may be handled by other members of the clinical team.
If you are flying internationally specifically to see one doctor, Antu should not simply tell you:
“Your appointment is confirmed.”
Where possible, it should also confirm:
whether the specialist is currently expected to attend personally, which campus the consultation will take place at, the scheduled time, and what alternative arrangement may be available if the schedule changes.
However, no platform should promise:
“This doctor will 100% never have a last-minute schedule change.”
Unforeseen scheduling changes can occur in clinical practice.
Do regular outpatient departments and International Medical Departments use the same specialists?
There can be substantial overlap at some hospitals, but you should not assume the physician lists are identical.
Many International Medical Departments at major public hospitals invite specialists from the hospital’s main clinical departments, so the same physician may be available through both regular outpatient services and the international department.
However, there can be differences in:
- consultation dates;
- appointment availability;
- whether certain physicians are available through only one service pathway;
- fees;
- service and language support.
For example, Beijing’s official information for Peking Union Medical College Hospital lists separate appointment channels and service arrangements for its International Medical Services, showing that international medical care is not simply an exact copy of the regular outpatient system.
So if you have already chosen a particular doctor, do not ask only:
“Does this doctor work at this hospital?”
Also ask:
“Can I book this physician through the International Medical Department, and when is the next available consultation?”
If the International Medical Department costs more, does that mean the doctors, equipment, and medical care are always better?
No.
The higher price of an International Medical Department often reflects additional service-level support, such as:
- easier appointment coordination;
- foreign-language support;
- patient navigation;
- greater privacy;
- fewer administrative barriers;
- international insurance assistance;
- and, in some cases, more comfortable inpatient room options.
If the International Medical Department is part of a large public hospital, the actual clinical resources it uses—such as:
- operating rooms;
- CT/MRI;
- pathology;
- ICU;
- hospital pharmacy
may be substantially shared with the main hospital.
So it is not accurate to assume:
regular outpatient care = lower medical quality.
International Medical Department = automatically better medical technology.
The more useful questions are:
Are the doctor and clinical team appropriate for my case?
Do I need additional language and coordination support?
Is that additional service worth the extra cost for my situation?
A patient who speaks Chinese fluently, understands the Chinese healthcare system, and needs only a simple consultation may be perfectly comfortable using regular outpatient care.
For a foreign patient coming to China for the first time and requiring complex testing or inpatient surgery, international medical services may provide much more practical value.
For a complex condition, should I choose a large general hospital or a specialist hospital?
Start by asking whether your case requires:
greater “depth” in one specialty or greater “breadth” across several specialties.
If the condition is highly concentrated in one field, such as certain:
- cancers;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- eye disorders;
- orthopedic conditions;
a highly specialized hospital may be an excellent choice.
However, if your case involves several body systems at the same time, for example:
cancer + serious heart disease + impaired kidney function
a major general hospital may be more convenient because you may need simultaneous input from:
- oncology;
- surgery;
- cardiology;
- nephrology;
- anesthesia;
- ICU.
So it is not correct to assume:
a specialist hospital is always more specialized in every meaningful way.
Nor is it correct to assume:
a general hospital is automatically stronger at everything.
The key question is:
Does your treatment require highly concentrated expertise in one field, or coordinated support from multiple specialties?
If I have several conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, which department should I see first?
In most cases, it is better to identify one specialty that leads the current treatment decision rather than having the patient independently book four or five unrelated specialist consultations.
For example:
your main reason for coming to China may be cancer surgery.
In that situation, the surgical or oncology team may lead the case.
However, if you also have serious heart disease and diabetes, whether surgery can be performed safely may also require:
- cardiology assessment;
- endocrinology input to control blood glucose;
- anesthesia assessment of perioperative risk.
So deciding which department to see first is not simply about identifying which disease sounds most serious. The question is:
Which medical issue is currently determining whether the next treatment step can proceed?
For a complex patient, a more efficient approach is often to submit the complete medical record to a lead team first and allow the hospital to determine:
which specialty should see the patient first, which departments need to participate, and whether an MDT review is appropriate.
Can Chinese hospitals arrange multidisciplinary team consultations for complex cases?
Yes. Many major Chinese hospitals provide multidisciplinary team care, or MDT review.
The National Health Commission has continued to promote multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment, and 2025 outpatient-management guidance expressly allows medical institutions to establish multidisciplinary joint clinics or MDT clinics for difficult and critically ill patients.
For example, a complex cancer case may involve:
- surgery;
- medical oncology;
- radiation oncology;
- radiology;
- pathology
reviewing the case together.
However, it is important to understand:
“This hospital offers MDT services” does not mean every patient automatically receives an MDT review.
Whether an MDT is appropriate depends on the complexity of the case and the hospital’s arrangement.
A meaningful MDT is also not simply:
“I saw five different doctors on the same day.”
It means:
multiple relevant specialties jointly review the same case and develop a coordinated treatment opinion.
An MDT may be particularly useful when different doctors have already recommended significantly different treatment approaches.
Can I have two or three Chinese hospitals review my case before deciding where to go?
Yes, and for situations such as:
- major surgery;
- cancer treatment;
- rare disease;
- high-cost treatment;
- higher-risk procedures,
this can sometimes be very valuable.
However, one condition is extremely important:
Each hospital should receive the same medical information whenever possible.
That should include:
- diagnosis;
- pathology;
- CT/MRI;
- previous treatment;
- medication history;
- latest tests;
- and the specific question you are trying to answer now.
Otherwise, you may end up with a situation where:
Hospital A only reviewed an old CT scan,
Hospital B received the new pathology,
Hospital C knows that you recently changed medication.
If the three hospitals then recommend different plans, you will not know whether the difference reflects a genuine medical disagreement or simply different information.
When comparing several hospitals, it is therefore very important to organize the case into one standardized version first.
Antu can help standardize the medical file before it is submitted to different clinical teams so that the final comparison is more meaningful.
How should I compare treatment plans when different hospitals recommend very different approaches?
Do not compare plans only by asking:
“Which doctor sounds more confident?”
And do not compare them only by asking:
“Which hospital is offering the more advanced treatment?”
Each treatment plan should answer the same set of questions:
- Do they agree on my diagnosis and disease stage?
- What is the goal of treatment—cure, disease control, or symptom relief?
- Why is this treatment being recommended?
- What are the major risks?
- What alternatives exist?
- What may happen if I do not proceed now?
- Which test results support this decision?
For example:
Hospital A recommends immediate surgery,
while Hospital B recommends medication first.
The first question may not actually be:
“Which is better, surgery or medication?”
It may be:
“Do the two hospitals agree on my pathology, stage, and whether the disease is currently operable?”
If there is disagreement about pathology or staging itself, the next step may be:
pathology review, imaging review, or MDT discussion.
That can be more useful than immediately looking for a fourth hospital to cast another vote.
What criteria does Antu use to match patients with hospitals and doctors?
Antu’s matching process should not begin with:
“Which hospitals do we have available to recommend?”
It should begin with:
“What medical problem does this patient actually need to solve right now?”
The first step is usually to understand:
- the confirmed diagnosis;
- the stage of the disease;
- previous treatment;
- why the current treatment approach may need to change;
- and the main question the patient is trying to resolve.
The next step is to match the case with:
- the relevant specialty and subspecialty;
- the physician’s actual clinical focus;
- whether the hospital has the required technology and equipment;
- whether pathology review is needed;
- whether MDT review is appropriate;
- whether ICU support may be necessary;
- whether special medications may be required;
- whether English-language support is needed;
- whether international insurance is involved;
- and how follow-up will be managed.
An Antu recommendation therefore should not simply say:
“This is a very good hospital.”
It should be able to explain:
“Why this particular hospital and physician are relevant to your specific medical case.”
For a complex case, if several reasonable options exist, the differences between those hospitals can also be explained so that the patient and family can participate in the final decision.
Will Antu prioritize a hospital simply because it has a partnership with that hospital?
Patients have every reason to ask this question, because one of the most important trust issues in cross-border healthcare is:
“Are you helping me choose the right hospital, or are you simply directing me to one of your partner hospitals?”
For Antu, hospital partnerships and medical suitability should be considered separately.
Having an established relationship with a hospital may make:
- case submission;
- communication with doctors;
- appointment coordination;
- international patient support
more efficient.
However, the fact that a partnership is convenient should not by itself be the medical reason for recommending that hospital.
A reasonable recommendation should be able to explain:
Why this hospital?
Why this doctor?
Are there other reasonable options?
If the patient wants to compare a second hospital, can another assessment be arranged?
If a patient’s case is clearly better suited to another hospital, medical suitability should take priority over the convenience of an existing partnership.
For an international patient, the more transparent the recommendation process is, the easier it is to build long-term trust.
A family member is required to sign for surgery, but all of my relatives are overseas and cannot be present. What should we do?
Do not automatically assume that surgery cannot proceed simply because no family member can be physically present.
Under China’s current informed-consent rules, if the patient has the capacity to make their own medical decisions, the doctor should explain the condition, surgical risks, alternative options, and other relevant information and obtain the patient’s clear consent. A close family member’s consent becomes particularly relevant when the patient cannot make an independent decision or when there are circumstances in which the information cannot appropriately be explained directly to the patient. In an emergency where the patient’s or family member’s opinion cannot be obtained in time, necessary treatment may proceed with approval from the hospital’s responsible or authorized official.
In practice, however, some hospitals may still require family contact information, an authorized representative, or additional internal documentation for major surgery, high-risk treatment, or particular clinical situations.
If all of your relatives are overseas, do not wait until the day before surgery to resolve this. Ask the hospital in advance:
- whether the patient can personally complete the main informed-consent documents;
- whether an additional family member or authorized contact is required;
- whether remote video confirmation is accepted;
- whether a power of attorney is required;
- whether the hospital has a specific authorization form;
- whether notarization, authentication, or other supporting documents are required;
- and who should act as the contact person if the patient later becomes unable to make independent medical decisions.
Hospital procedures can differ, so do not prepare your own English authorization letter and assume that the hospital will automatically accept it.
Antu can coordinate with the hospital’s International Medical Department, ward, or medical affairs office in advance and help the patient and overseas family prepare the required documentation. The hospital will ultimately determine which consent and authorization process applies to the specific medical situation.
Can I obtain the original test reports from my hospitalization?
Yes, you can request access to your own medical information, but it is important to distinguish between:
“my official test reports and medical data”
and
“the hospital’s original inpatient medical chart.”
Under current Chinese rules, patients have the right to access and copy medical materials including laboratory reports, medical imaging materials, pathology records, surgical and anesthesia records, nursing records, discharge records, and other relevant medical documentation. Medical institutions are required to provide the corresponding record-copying service.
However, the original inpatient medical chart is generally retained and managed by the hospital. Patients normally receive certified copies, electronic data, or other hospital-issued versions rather than physically taking away the hospital’s original medical file.
International patients should especially consider requesting:
- blood-test and other laboratory reports;
- formal CT, MRI, PET-CT, and other imaging reports;
- the original DICOM imaging files, not only the written radiology report;
- pathology reports;
- surgical and anesthesia records;
- the discharge record;
- and any other documentation likely to be needed for future treatment.
If you need physical pathology materials such as slides or paraffin blocks, ask the pathology department in advance whether they can be borrowed, copied, or released under a separate procedure, because these materials may be managed differently.
Antu can help prepare a medical-record checklist before discharge based on the patient’s future care needs, reducing the risk of returning home and discovering that the local doctor needs the original imaging data while the patient only has a printed Chinese report.
I brought the medications I normally take. Can I continue taking them while I am hospitalized?
Do not continue taking your own medications independently. First tell the inpatient doctors and nurses about everything you have brought.
Once you are admitted, the hospital needs to know all medications you are currently using because your usual medicines may need to be:
- continued;
- dose-adjusted;
- temporarily stopped;
- replaced with an equivalent supplied by the hospital;
- withheld before surgery or a particular test;
- or reassessed for interactions with the new treatment plan.
Chinese hospital evaluation standards also require hospitals to maintain management and review procedures for patients’ own medications. In principle, inpatients should not independently use self-supplied medicines; when a patient genuinely needs to use one, it should go through the hospital’s approval, documentation, and safety process.
When you are admitted, it is best to show the medical team the medications in their original packaging and provide a list containing:
brand name + generic name + dose + how often you take it + why you take it.
This is particularly important for international patients because the same medicine may be sold under different brand names in different countries. A Chinese doctor may not immediately recognize a foreign brand name or know that it contains the same active ingredient as a drug already being prescribed in the hospital.
Make sure the team knows if you use:
- anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs;
- diabetes medications or insulin;
- steroids;
- heart or blood-pressure medications;
- immunosuppressants;
- cancer medications;
- traditional medicines, herbal products, or supplements.
One of the most dangerous situations is when the hospital has already prescribed an equivalent medicine and the patient secretly continues taking the medication brought from home, creating a risk of duplicate treatment, excessive dosing, or drug interactions.
Antu can help organize and translate the names, generic ingredients, and doses of overseas medications before admission, but the treating doctor must decide which medications should be continued, stopped, or adjusted.
If I feel that the treatment plan is not right after admission and want to transfer to another hospital, what should I do?
You can raise the possibility of transferring, but it should not be treated as:
“I am unhappy today, so I can discharge myself and simply take a car to another hospital.”
A safer process is:
First, clarify the disagreement.
Ask the treating doctor to explain the current diagnosis, treatment goal, why the plan is being recommended, and what alternatives exist.
Second, if concerns remain, consider requesting a second medical opinion.
Sometimes the main problem is not that a transfer is medically necessary, but that the treatment plan has not been clearly understood or communicated.
Third, confirm that another hospital is willing to accept the case before leaving the current hospital.
For a complex patient in particular, do not discharge first and start looking for another hospital afterward.
Fourth, determine whether the patient is medically safe to transfer.
If the patient is receiving oxygen, continuous IV treatment, has recently undergone surgery, has unstable vital signs, or requires ICU-level care, a doctor should assess the transfer risk and medical transport may be necessary.
Fifth, make sure the medical handover is complete.
Before transfer, try to obtain:
- the current diagnosis;
- admission records and a clinical summary;
- the latest laboratory results;
- CT/MRI and other imaging;
- treatments already completed;
- current medications;
- surgical or procedure records;
- and any additional information requested by the receiving hospital.
If you use international insurance, also confirm whether the new hospital remains within your insurance network and whether a new pre-authorization is required after transfer.
Current rules also require medical institutions to arrange timely referral when a critically ill patient cannot be treated because of limitations in equipment or technical capability, and hospitals are expected to communicate with patients when questions or disagreements about treatment arise.
Antu can help identify a receiving hospital, submit the case, organize transfer records, and coordinate information between the two institutions. However, whether the patient is safe to transfer and what form of transport should be used must be decided by the medical team based on the patient’s condition at that time.
This hospitalization only completed the first stage of treatment. I need to return in a few months for the second stage. How should I arrange it?
Do not treat your second trip to China as a completely new medical journey in which you have to find the hospital again and explain your entire history from the beginning.
Before you are discharged after the first stage, try to clarify as many conditions for the second stage as possible.
At minimum, ask the doctor:
When should I return?
Ideally, the plan should provide a realistic time window rather than simply saying “in three months.”
Which tests should I complete before returning?
Some blood tests, CT scans, MRI studies, and other follow-up tests may be completed in your home country and sent to the Chinese doctor in advance.
Is the second stage already confirmed?
Or does the final decision depend on your recovery, imaging, laboratory results, or other findings after the first stage?
Will the second stage require another hospital admission?
Will you need repeat pre-treatment testing, anesthesia assessment, or another eligibility assessment?
Will the same doctor continue to manage the case?
Which department, physician, or clinical team should be contacted for the next stage?
You should also recheck:
- visa or re-entry arrangements;
- international insurance authorization;
- medical budget;
- accommodation;
- accompanying family arrangements;
- and return travel.
Do not immediately buy a completely non-refundable flight simply because the doctor says “come back in a few months,” because the second stage may still depend on updated follow-up results.
Antu can keep the medical history, physician recommendations, and next-stage plan connected after the first treatment. As the second stage approaches, the process can follow:
complete follow-up testing at home → update the medical records → obtain renewed confirmation from the Chinese doctor → confirm hospital dates → arrange visa and travel
so that the patient does not have to start from zero again every few months.
Can I receive all of my medical records, test reports, and diagnostic certificates on the day I am discharged?
Not necessarily, so do not wait until the day of discharge to make this request for the first time.
Documents that may be relatively easy to receive on the day of discharge include:
- the discharge summary or discharge record;
- the discharge diagnosis;
- laboratory results that have already been finalized;
- medication instructions;
- follow-up and recovery recommendations.
However, the following may not yet be complete:
- the full inpatient medical record;
- finalized surgical documentation;
- the final pathology report;
- certain genetic or specialized laboratory results;
- archived and certified copies of the complete medical chart;
- English translations;
- some diagnostic or insurance-related certificates.
Current Chinese medical-record management rules expressly state that if part of the record is not yet complete when the patient requests copies, the hospital can provide copies of the completed portions first, with the additional completed records copied later.
For an international patient, one of the worst arrangements is:
discharge this afternoon, international flight tomorrow morning, and only this afternoon ask for the first time, “Where are all of my medical records?”
A safer approach is to tell the hospital before the planned discharge:
“I am an international patient and will need these records for continued treatment and insurance after returning home. Please tell me which documents can be issued on discharge day and which will need to follow later.”
Then clarify:
- which documents can be collected immediately;
- which require an application through the medical-records office;
- which can be provided electronically;
- which may later be collected by an authorized family member or representative;
- whether Antu can be authorized to assist with later document collection.
Antu can help prepare a document checklist before discharge based on future treatment and insurance needs and follow up on records that cannot be completed on the day the patient leaves the hospital.
I need many tests during my hospitalization. How are they arranged, and will I have to wait in long queues?
Testing for an inpatient is usually organized differently from testing for an ordinary outpatient.
In most cases, the inpatient doctor first orders the necessary examinations based on the patient’s condition. The ward nurses, hospital system, or relevant diagnostic department then helps arrange the timing. The patient normally does not have to independently figure out how to register for every single test from the beginning.
The process may look roughly like:
doctor orders the test → ward confirms the arrangement → patient receives preparation instructions and timing → patient goes for the test, with staff transport assistance if necessary.
However, being admitted to the hospital does not mean:
every test can be performed immediately with no waiting at all.
Waiting time can depend on many factors, including:
- whether the examination is urgent;
- whether it is CT, MRI, or routine laboratory testing;
- whether contrast is required;
- whether fasting is required;
- whether anesthesia is required;
- equipment availability that day;
- whether several departments need to coordinate.
Critically ill or urgent patients are generally managed according to clinical urgency, while ordinary inpatients may still need to wait for an available testing slot.
The most useful approach is to ask the ward each day:
Which tests are planned today?
Do any require fasting?
Approximately what time will they happen?
When are the results expected?
Could the results affect the timing of the next treatment step?
If you have a fasting test the next morning, ask the night before when fasting begins, whether water is allowed, and what to do with your usual morning medication rather than guessing.
Antu can help international patients understand and follow the daily testing schedule, particularly where language or cross-department coordination is involved. However, Antu cannot bypass the hospital’s normal priority system based on medical urgency and equipment availability simply to make a foreign patient’s test happen faster.
If I leave China after discharge, how should my follow-up tests be arranged?
Many follow-up tests do not necessarily require the patient to fly back to China.
The most important step is to make the follow-up plan clear before leaving China.
At discharge, try to confirm:
What tests are required?
For example, complete blood count, liver and kidney function, tumor markers, CT, MRI, or other tests.
When should each test be performed?
For example, two weeks, six weeks, or three months after treatment rather than simply being told to “follow up regularly.”
Where can the tests be done?
Which tests genuinely require a return to China, and which can be completed in your home country?
How should the results be sent back to China?
Is the written report sufficient, or will the Chinese team also need the original DICOM files for CT or MRI?
Who will review the results?
Will the original treating doctor or clinical team review them, or will a new remote follow-up appointment need to be arranged?
For example, the plan might be:
blood tests in your home country after two weeks → CT after six weeks → send the report and DICOM files to China → Chinese doctor reviews them remotely → decide whether another trip to China is needed at three months.
That is much more useful than simply being told:
“Come back for follow-up in three months.”
If, after returning home, the patient develops severe chest pain, significant breathing difficulty, major bleeding, altered consciousness, persistent high fever, or another acute problem, do not wait for the Chinese doctor to respond from another country. Seek urgent local medical care first.
Antu can help organize laboratory results, imaging, and other follow-up information completed in the patient’s home country, submit them back to the original Chinese medical team, and coordinate remote follow-up or the next trip to China when needed.
The goal is for cross-border medical care not to become:
“The relationship ends at discharge.”
Instead, the process should remain connected as much as possible:
treatment in China → follow-up testing at home → continued review by the Chinese medical team → return to China when necessary.