Getting treatment in China is one thing. Knowing what to do afterward — especially when you're returning to your home country — is where most foreign patients have the least preparation. This guide covers the practical follow-up steps: what to collect before leaving, how to manage ongoing care from abroad, and what warning signs should send you back to a doctor quickly.
Who This Guide Is For
This is for foreign patients who:
- Have completed a procedure, workup, or treatment course in China
- Are returning home and need to continue care with their local doctor
- Are staying in China for follow-up but unfamiliar with how the continued-care system works
If you haven't started treatment yet and want to understand the process from the beginning, read What is the standard process for foreigners at a Chinese hospital?
Before You Leave the Hospital: What to Collect
This is the most important step and the most commonly skipped. Once you're home, getting documents from a Chinese hospital becomes significantly harder.
What to request:
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Complete medical records (病历复印件) — This includes the doctor's consultation notes, admission summary, and treatment records. Ask for a copy before discharge. Some hospitals provide these automatically; most require a specific request.
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All test results (化验报告 / 检查报告) — Blood tests, imaging, pathology reports, and any other diagnostic outputs. Request both printed copies and digital copies where possible.
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Imaging files (影像资料) — For CT scans, MRI, X-rays, and ultrasound: request the imaging data on a CD or USB, not just the printed report. Your home country radiologist needs the actual images, not a summary.
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Discharge summary (出院小结) — For inpatient admissions, this document summarizes your diagnosis, treatment course, medications, and follow-up instructions. It's the single most important document for your home country doctor.
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Medication documentation — If you were prescribed ongoing medication, get the full medication names (both generic and brand), dosages, and administration instructions in writing. Ask for English translation of the instructions before you leave.
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Official invoices (发票) — For insurance reimbursement, you need formal fāpiào (税票), not just receipts. Request these at the cashier. Hospitals cannot always issue them retroactively.
→ How to get medical records from a Chinese hospital
Translating Your Records
Your home country doctor will likely need your records in their local language, or at minimum in English.
Options:
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Professional medical translation: For important records (discharge summary, surgical report, pathology results), use a professional medical translator — not a general translation service. Medical terminology requires domain knowledge. Errors in translation can directly affect treatment decisions.
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Hospital translation assistance: Some international departments in Chinese hospitals offer translation services. Ask before you leave.
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For basic reference: Google Translate or DeepL are acceptable for scanning records at home to understand the content, but not for formal submission to a doctor or insurer.
What your home country doctor needs most:
- Diagnosis (in ICD codes if possible, or with both Chinese and English terminology)
- Procedure details (for any surgery or major intervention)
- Pathology results (for cancer or biopsy cases)
- Current medication list and dosages
- Follow-up instructions from the Chinese treating physician
Scheduling Follow-Up Appointments in China
If your treatment plan requires ongoing follow-up within China (for example: post-surgical reviews, chemotherapy cycles, or staged procedures), you need to book these before you leave.
Why book before discharge:
- Popular specialists at top hospitals have long booking queues
- Some follow-up tests need to be timed correctly (e.g., 6-week post-op imaging)
- Your treating physician's schedule fills up — booking late may mean seeing a different doctor
How to book:
- Ask your treating doctor or the international department coordinator to schedule the follow-up before you are discharged
- For longer gaps (e.g., 3-month review), get the phone number or WeChat of the coordinator who can book you in when the time comes
- Get written confirmation of your follow-up appointment(s) before leaving the hospital
Continuing Care After Returning Home
When you return home, your local doctor needs to pick up where the Chinese team left off. This handoff is often where care gaps appear.
What to do:
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Book an appointment with your GP or specialist promptly. Don't wait weeks. Share your Chinese records with them at the appointment.
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Be clear about the treatment you received. Bring all documents and be ready to walk through them. Your Chinese hospital may use different staging systems, naming conventions, or reference ranges from your home country.
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Medication continuity: If you were prescribed Chinese medications that aren't available in your home country, your local doctor needs to know what they were and what they were treating. Don't stop or swap medications without medical guidance.
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Watch for post-treatment warning signs. Depending on the type of treatment, there are specific signs that warrant urgent follow-up — these should be in your discharge summary. If they weren't explained clearly, ask before leaving China.
When to Contact Your Chinese Doctor Again
You don't need to go through the full hospital registration process to reach your treating physician. Most senior doctors at major Chinese hospitals can be reached via:
- The hospital's international department — They keep records of foreign patients and can facilitate communication
- WeChat — Many doctors in China communicate with patients via WeChat. If your doctor shared their WeChat, use it for non-urgent questions
- ChinaEasey coordination — If you used a coordinator for your treatment, they can relay questions or facilitate a telemedicine call
When it's worth reaching back out:
- Unexpected symptoms after returning home that may relate to the treatment
- Results from home-country follow-up tests that differ significantly from what was expected
- Questions about medication, dosage, or whether a symptom is within normal post-treatment range
- Decisions about whether to return to China for continued treatment
Remote Follow-Up: What's Possible
Some Chinese hospitals offer telemedicine follow-up for international patients. This varies widely by hospital and department.
What usually works:
- Reviewing test results with your treating physician over video call
- Getting clarification on discharge instructions
- Discussing whether a home-country doctor's interpretation aligns with the Chinese team's plan
What doesn't work well remotely:
- Physical examinations
- Imaging interpretation without the actual imaging files
- Any situation that requires hands-on assessment
If your case requires ongoing physical follow-up, you'll need to plan a return trip or transition care to a local provider who can contact the Chinese team as needed.
Fit, Risk, and Who This Process Works For
Good fit for self-managed follow-up:
- Patients who received a clean discharge with clear written instructions
- Cases where treatment is complete and follow-up is routine (blood tests at 3 months, etc.)
- Patients with a home country doctor already familiar with the relevant condition
Higher risk scenarios that warrant more support:
- Post-surgical patients returning to countries with different standard-of-care expectations
- Oncology patients mid-treatment who need to coordinate between Chinese oncology team and home country team
- Patients with medication continuity issues (drugs not available at home, dosage conversion needed)
- Cases where the discharge summary is incomplete or only in Chinese
ChinaEasey's limits: We help plan and coordinate, but we are not a medical provider. We don't interpret test results, adjust medication plans, or make clinical decisions. If you have active medical concerns after treatment, contact a qualified physician — in China or at home.
What we can do: help you organize your records, coordinate with the hospital's international department, and facilitate communication between your Chinese and home-country care teams.
→ Request medical planning support
Follow-Up Checklist
Before you leave China:
- [ ] Medical records collected and copied
- [ ] All imaging files on CD or USB
- [ ] Discharge summary in hand
- [ ] Follow-up appointments booked (if applicable)
- [ ] Medication names and dosages written in English
- [ ] Official invoices (发票) collected for insurance
- [ ] Doctor's contact information noted (WeChat or via international dept)
After returning home:
- [ ] GP/specialist appointment booked
- [ ] Chinese records reviewed with home country doctor
- [ ] Medication continuity confirmed
- [ ] Post-treatment monitoring plan agreed with local doctor
What Comes Next
Need patient-side support?
If you are evaluating treatment in China, we can help with case triage, hospital matching, logistics planning, and realistic next steps.