The first thing a Chinese doctor does when meeting a foreign patient is often to review the records from hospitals abroad, re-verify the diagnostic basis — and only then design a treatment plan. What you bring, and how complete it is, therefore decides whether your first consultation becomes a plan discussion or a repeat work-up from scratch. The second path can easily cost an extra week and a sizable bill for duplicate tests. This article breaks down pre-travel record preparation by record type — how to request DICOM imaging, how to borrow pathology slides, how to handle translation — and ends with a checklist you can follow directly.
If your first step is a remote consultation, start with our remote consultation and pre-travel preparation guide. For how fast imaging results come back in China, see our diagnostic imaging timeline.
Why Preparation Determines Your Efficiency in China
Chinese tertiary hospitals can redo most tests quickly — but "can redo" does not mean "worth redoing". Complete records buy you three concrete advantages:
Meaningful comparison: tumor size changes and trends in lab values only mean something when the old images and reports are on the desk.
Fewer duplicate tests: for invasive or expensive studies — PET-CT, biopsies — a complete outside imaging and pathology package can lead the doctor to adjust or even skip some items. Whether anything can be skipped is the doctor's call, but the prerequisite is having the material in hand.
Faster decisions: the first consultation moves straight to plan discussion instead of waiting for new test slots.
The most common inefficient scenario is the reverse: a few paper report summaries, no original imaging, no pathology slides. The doctor then orders a full new work-up, and your trip stretches accordingly.
DICOM Imaging: Why a Report Alone Is Not Enough
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is the standard file format for CT, MRI and PET-CT studies. The radiologist's report is only their interpretation of the images; the original DICOM files contain the full cross-sectional image data, which another doctor can scroll, measure and compare on a computer. Bring the original imaging, not just the report — this is standard advice in international second opinions, and Chinese doctors reviewing outside imaging work the same way.
The limitation of a report alone is concrete: a line saying "lesion approximately 3.2 cm" cannot answer "has it changed since three months ago?" Small measurement differences and details the report never mentioned are only visible in the original images.
How to Request Your Original Imaging
In most countries, patients have the right to copies of their medical records, imaging included. The standard process:
Fill in a records/imaging release request: apply to the medical records (HIM) department or radiology department of the hospital where the scan was done, specifying the studies, dates and purpose.
Sign an authorization/release form: most institutions only release records to you or a third party after a signed authorization.
Choose the medium: the traditional route is a CD or USB drive, usually with a built-in DICOM viewer that opens on any computer; more and more hospitals offer cloud imaging links or direct downloads through patient portals (systems like MyChart).
Ask explicitly for "the complete DICOM study": say you need the full DICOM files, not just the report, so you do not end up with screenshots or compressed JPGs.
If you plan to carry a disc, note that airline and customs rules generally do not restrict medical discs — but keep it in your carry-on, never in checked luggage.
Cloud Imaging in China: Scanning a QR Code Is Now Normal
A fact that works in your favor: Chinese hospitals accept imaging far more flexibly than they used to. "Cloud film" services (cloud imaging / electronic film) have spread rapidly across Chinese hospitals — patients scan a QR code on their phone to view images and reports, no plastic film needed; cities like Beijing run regional imaging cloud platforms that upload reports in the tens of millions per year, and China's medical insurance authority is building a national imaging cloud for cross-hospital sharing. For international patients this means that if your imaging can be converted into a cloud link or DICOM files, the doctor may review them in advance — or on the day — instead of waiting for a disc to be mailed.
One caveat, stated honestly: China's cloud imaging systems cover studies performed inside China. A link exported from your home country's patient portal cannot necessarily be opened by a Chinese hospital. The safest carrier remains the original DICOM files themselves — on disc, USB or as exported cloud files.
Pathology: Beyond the Report, Borrow the Slides
Pathology is the foundation of cancer treatment decisions. If you had a biopsy or surgery at home, the Chinese doctor will usually want to re-review the actual slides rather than rely on the report — this is standard international practice in tumor consultations, and many US hospitals even mandate outside-pathology review before treating referred patients.
What to prepare:
The original pathology report: essential, including immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular test results where performed.
A loan of stained slides (glass slides): hospitals in most countries allow patients to request that slides be released to another institution for consultation — usually after signing a release form; slides remain the property of the originating hospital and are returned after review, while paraffin blocks generally stay where they are. Processes vary by country and hospital; your treating doctor or the pathology department can usually initiate it.
Digital alternatives: some pathology departments can provide digital slides (whole-slide scans) for direct transfer — faster than physical loans, though not every Chinese hospital accepts digital slides in place of physical ones, so confirm with the target hospital in advance.
How Chinese Hospitals Handle Pathology Consultation and Slide Loans
Within China, pathology slides and paraffin blocks are legal medical records kept in the hospital's archive; patients cannot take them away, only borrow them short-term. Blocks are generally not loaned out — the hospital cuts new unstained sections ("white slides") as needed for consultation or additional testing. If you need a pathology consultation inside China, the typical flow is: confirm what the target hospital needs (slides or white slides, how many) → submit a loan application to the originating hospital's pathology department (usually requiring ID, the original report, and in some cases a certificate from the consulting hospital) → pay any deposit → return the slides after the consultation and get the deposit back.
If your slides are at home and the consultation is in China, the flow runs in reverse: borrow from your home hospital as described above, carry them in, and hand them to the pathology department for review. Confirm the receiving hospital's material requirements before you travel — that determines exactly what to ask your home pathology department for.
Lab Trends, Medication Lists and Operative Reports
Beyond imaging and pathology, three more record types are worth organizing:
Time series of lab results: a single blood draw says little; trends say a lot. Consecutive records of tumor markers, blood counts, liver and kidney function over recent months to years help the doctor judge disease trajectory and organ reserve.
Medication list: every drug you currently take — generic names rather than brand names — with dose and frequency, plus recently stopped drugs. Include herbal medicines and supplements honestly.
Operative report and discharge summary: if you have had surgery, the operative report (technique, extent, intraoperative findings) is more informative than the pathology report alone; the discharge summary is the fastest way for a new doctor to absorb your history.
Translation and Notarization: Are English Reports Enough?
Good news: doctors at large Chinese hospitals can generally read English reports directly, and in most cases the English original is usable. When a Chinese translation is needed, the standard is a version issued by an accredited translation agency with an official translation stamp, sometimes accompanied by proof of the translator's qualifications — self-translation is usually not accepted. As for notarization: Chinese hospitals generally do not require notarized records for consultation; notarization comes up mainly for insurance claims or legal purposes. The safe move is to confirm language requirements with the target hospital's international department or consultation center before you fly.
Be aware that professional medical translation is not cheap — one Beijing service provider's 2025 published pricing puts a certified English translation of a standard outpatient file (labs plus imaging plus a discharge summary) at roughly US$120-350. Translating in the other direction (foreign languages into Chinese) follows a similar structure, so translate the key documents rather than the entire archive.
The Pre-Travel Checklist
Use this table to check yourself off before departure:
| Record type | Importance | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Original DICOM imaging (CD/USB/cloud files) | High | Request from the scanning hospital's records or radiology department; sign a release form |
| Imaging and lab reports (English or original) | High | Download from the patient portal or get stamped printouts |
| Pathology report (with IHC/molecular results) | High | Request a copy from the pathology department |
| Loan of stained slides (glass) | High (cancer patients) | Apply to the originating pathology department; return after consultation |
| Operative report and discharge summary | Medium-high | Copy from the medical records office |
| Lab value time series | Medium | Organize multiple reports chronologically |
| Medication list (with doses and frequency) | Medium | Prepare yourself or have your doctor confirm |
| Stamped Chinese translations of key documents | Depends on hospital | Issued by an accredited translation agency |
Authorization and Privacy: Delegating Access and Handover
Requesting records or borrowing slides normally requires a signed authorization from the patient (a release of information). If you delegate coordination to a service like MyMedVia, the typical flow is: you sign an authorization specifying exactly which records may be obtained and transferred; the service then liaises with the records, imaging and pathology departments and delivers an organized package to the Chinese doctor before you land. This avoids the worst-case scenario — discovering a missing item after arrival, when shipping one slide can take weeks.
Apply data minimization at the same time: scope the authorization narrowly and transfer only what is relevant to this episode of care. That is the standard way to protect your own privacy.
How to Start
Record preparation is detail work, and requirements differ by hospital and condition. During the remote consultation stage, MyMedVia can tell you exactly which materials your target hospital needs, in which languages, how to initiate a slide loan, and can handle translation, authorization and handover — so that your first consultation after landing gets straight to the point. Reach us via the contact page.
This article is general information and does not constitute medical advice. Always follow the guidance of your treating physician.
