Tests, medicines & records
Internet hospital consent, privacy and records in China
Complete informed consent, limit sensitive-data sharing, preserve the online record, and request copies without assuming instant download or overseas transfer.
Internet diagnosis creates a medical and data trail, not merely a private video call. National supervision rules require informed consent before the online encounter, patient real-name use, an online medical record managed under outpatient-record standards and retention of the text, image, audio and video process records for at least 3 years. The electronic outpatient medical record is retained for at least 15 years under the cited standards. Medical and health information, and information about children under fourteen, receive sensitive-personal-information protection under national law. These rules do not create one national portal, guarantee instant download of every file or make every participant, family member, interpreter, insurer or overseas provider an authorized recipient. This guide covers consent, identity, record requests and secure handoff only; it does not provide clinical or case-specific legal advice or decide the lawful basis for a particular cross-border transfer.
Use this as a practical starting point
Provider procedures can change, so confirm time-sensitive details with the hospital, insurer or service. A licensed professional must make clinical decisions for an individual patient.
At a glance
Key points
- Complete the accountable medical institution's informed-consent process before internet diagnosis and retain the consent version or confirmation.
- Confirm the patient's real-name identity and the authority of any guardian, family member, interpreter or representative using the account.
- Medical and health information and information about children under fourteen are sensitive personal information requiring a specific purpose, sufficient necessity and strict safeguards.
- The online outpatient medical record and the process records are different: cited rules support at least fifteen years for the outpatient record and at least three years for text, image, audio and video process records.
- A right or route to request medical-record copies does not mean every platform must provide an instant download, every raw process file or the applicant's preferred format.
- Keep the Chinese institution-held original and any translation, export or patient summary as separate materials.
- Before sharing records overseas, ask the Chinese record holder and foreign recipient about purpose, minimum set, authority, secure channel and applicable requirements without assuming a chat upload is lawful.
- Use the institution's record, privacy and complaint routes for a factual problem; they do not guarantee deletion, compensation, access by another person or a particular legal outcome.
Confirm the institution and complete informed consent
Identify the Chinese legal medical institution responsible for the internet-diagnosis encounter and the physical institution to which it is linked. Use its official portal or verified platform entry, and record the department, physician, appointment number and account holder. National supervision rules require informed consent before internet diagnosis. Ask whether consent covers the medical service, identity verification, communication method, record creation and any separate platform functions, and preserve the version, date and confirmation shown to the patient.
Do not treat a general app privacy notice, payment acceptance or video-call invitation as proof that the medical informed-consent process has been completed. If the patient needs language assistance, ask the institution how it provides or permits interpretation and allow time for the patient to understand the provider's explanation. This guide cannot decide whether consent is legally or clinically sufficient for an individual encounter. Ask the responsible institution to clarify unclear language and record any withdrawal, refusal or changed consent through its formal process.
- Chinese legal medical institution and physical campus
- Official platform and patient account
- Online department, physician and appointment number
- Medical informed-consent version and date
- Separate privacy or platform notices where presented
- Interpreter or language-support arrangement
Medical informed consent, platform terms and a general privacy notice can be separate records. Keep each confirmation instead of treating one checkbox as all three.
Verify identity, authority and minimum-necessary access
National supervision rules require patient real-name use, so match the passport or other accepted identity document, patient profile and prior record before the encounter. If a parent, guardian, family member, interpreter or representative helps, ask the institution whose account must be used, who must appear, what authority evidence is required and what information the helper may access. Payment, family relationship, possession of the patient's phone or attendance during a prior visit does not automatically create full authority over the online record.
The Personal Information Protection Law treats medical and health information and information about children under fourteen as sensitive personal information and emphasizes a specific purpose, sufficient necessity and strict safeguards. Share only the information requested for the stated task and use the verified recipient and channel. Avoid sending a full passport, complete medical history or child record to an unknown personal account merely for scheduling, translation or technical support. Ask the institution to identify any separate consent or guardian process it relies on.
- Patient's accepted real-name identity
- Account holder and registered mobile number
- Guardian or representative authority where required
- Interpreter confidentiality and permitted access
- Stated purpose and minimum record set
- Verified institution-controlled recipient and channel
A helper may support communication without gaining an unrestricted right to view, download, forward or change the patient's medical record.
Distinguish the medical record from process recordings
The national internet-diagnosis supervision rules require an online medical record managed under outpatient electronic-medical-record requirements. The cited electronic-record standard provides a minimum retention period of at least fifteen years for outpatient medical records. Separately, the internet-diagnosis rules require text, image, audio and video process records to be retained for at least three years. These are minimum institutional retention duties, not promises that every process record will appear in the patient portal or be released in the same way as the medical record.
After the encounter, ask what formal documents were created: the online outpatient note, provider-recorded diagnosis, prescription, order, report, consent confirmation, charge list or other institution-held record where applicable. Also ask how the platform identifies the process-record archive without demanding that staff convert every technical log or recording into a patient-facing file. Do not record the session independently where doing so may affect privacy, consent or platform rules. This page does not determine whether a patient may make a separate recording in an individual case.
- Online outpatient medical record
- Provider-issued prescription or order where created
- Informed-consent confirmation
- Text, image, audio and video process-record category
- Institutional retention and archive contact
- Encounter, record and payment identifiers
At least fifteen years for the outpatient medical record and at least three years for process records describe different retained record categories, not one universal download package.
Request copies without assuming instant download
Use the accountable institution's medical-record copying or access process and name the exact encounter, document and date. Provide the patient identity, appointment or encounter number and the applicant's authority documents. National medical-record rules support formal copying of specified institution-held materials through identity and authorization controls, while current electronic-record policy emphasizes secure and traceable use. Ask what can be supplied, in which format, through which channel, at what time and with what proof mark or access code.
Do not equate a record-copy route with an immediate portal download. A platform may show a summary while the formal record remains in another institutional system, and the institution may need time to complete or verify it. The copy right or process also does not guarantee release of every raw audio, video, technical log or patient-selected file format. Preserve screenshots only as request evidence, keep the formal Chinese record unchanged and attach any translation or patient-created index separately.
- Patient and applicant identity documents
- Authority or relationship evidence where required
- Exact online encounter and record name
- Requested copy format and secure delivery channel
- Application receipt, case number and response date
- Formal Chinese original and separate translation
A visible portal page can help identify the encounter, but it is not automatically the formal record copy or every process file held by the institution.
Plan domestic and overseas sharing as separate decisions
Before sending the record to another Chinese provider, insurer, school, employer, translator or family member, confirm the recipient's identity, purpose, minimum required documents, secure channel and authority to receive them. Current electronic-record policy emphasizes authorized, minimum-necessary and traceable access. A hospital's release to the patient does not automatically authorize every onward disclosure, and a recipient's request does not require the patient or institution to send the complete record through an unofficial account.
For an overseas provider, insurer, cloud service or other recipient outside the Chinese mainland, ask the Chinese institution or relevant data holder about its approved transfer route and ask the recipient what it requires. The Personal Information Protection Law contains rules concerning cross-border provision and separate consent in relevant circumstances, but this guide does not determine the legal basis, security assessment, certification, contract, consent or exception for a particular transfer. Do not treat email, consumer cloud storage or a messaging app as automatically compliant or secure.
- Named domestic or overseas recipient
- Documented purpose and minimum record set
- Patient or authorized-person decision
- Record holder's approved release or transfer route
- Recipient's accepted format and security method
- Separate legal or institutional advice where required
Cross-border sharing can involve legal and institutional questions beyond a record copy. This guide does not make a case-specific transfer decision.
Correct identity errors and report privacy or access problems
For a passport, name, date or account mismatch, contact the institution that maintains the patient identity and holds the online record. Provide the correct document and formal linking evidence and ask for its correction or annotation process. Do not edit the issued medical record, open a second account or ask technical support to delete an accurate historical identity without review. If a clinical statement appears disputed, use the institution's record process and responsible clinician rather than rewriting it in a translation or complaint.
For missing records, unauthorized access, unexpected disclosure, an unverified recipient, unexplained refusal or delayed copy, preserve dates, account notices, screenshots, identifiers and the exact remedy requested. Use the institution's records office, privacy or security contact and published complaint channel. These routes do not guarantee deletion of retained records, release of every process file, compensation, access for a relative or a particular legal finding. For a perceived medical emergency in the Chinese mainland, call 120 and do not wait for a privacy or record dispute to be resolved.
- Exact identity, record or access issue
- Account, encounter and document identifiers
- Evidence of the incorrect, missing or disclosed information
- Requested correction, access review or explanation
- Records, privacy and complaint case numbers
- Written response and any next administrative route
A record or privacy complaint addresses information handling; it does not replace emergency access, clinical review or case-specific legal advice.
Useful language
Navigation phrases
Show the Chinese characters when pronunciation is uncertain. Use the copy button to send one phrase through a trusted channel without retyping it.
Avoidable problems
Common mistakes
- Treating a general app privacy notice as the medical informed-consent record.
- Using a family member's or helper's account without confirming the institution's identity and authority rules.
- Sending full passport and medical files to an unverified coordinator or personal chat account.
- Assuming the online outpatient record and every text, audio or video process file are the same document.
- Reading the retention periods as a promise of immediate patient download.
- Replacing the formal Chinese record with a translation or patient-edited summary.
- Believing that payment or family relationship automatically authorizes access or onward sharing.
- Uploading records overseas without confirming purpose, recipient, security and applicable requirements.
- Expecting a complaint to force deletion, instant release, compensation or access for another person.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is consent to the app's privacy policy the same as consent to internet diagnosis?
Do not assume so. National supervision rules require informed consent before internet diagnosis, while a platform can also present general terms and privacy notices. Ask the accountable medical institution which confirmation records the medical consent and preserve each relevant version separately.
How long are internet-hospital medical and process records kept?
The cited rules support at least fifteen years for the outpatient medical record and at least three years for the text, image, audio and video process records of internet diagnosis. They are different record categories and minimum retention duties, not a guarantee of one combined patient download.
Can I download the complete online medical record immediately after the visit?
Not necessarily. A portal display, formal medical record and process-record archive may be held in different systems. Use the institution's copying or access process, identify the exact document and ask about timing, format, identity and authorization. The rules do not guarantee instant release of every file.
Can my spouse, parent, employer or insurer obtain the record for me?
Only through the institution's applicable authority and identity process. Family relationship, payment or possession of the account does not automatically grant unrestricted access. Ask which authorization, relationship evidence and minimum record set are required for that specific recipient and purpose.
Can I email or upload my internet-hospital record to a doctor abroad?
Confirm the Chinese record holder's approved route, the foreign recipient's intake and security requirements and any applicable legal conditions first. National personal-information law addresses sensitive information and cross-border provision, but this guide cannot decide the lawful basis or compliance steps for an individual transfer.
Can I require the platform to delete the online visit and recordings?
This guide cannot determine that. Medical institutions have legal and regulatory retention duties, and a privacy request does not automatically override them. Submit the exact request to the responsible institution's records or privacy channel and ask for a written explanation of the applicable retention and response process.
Evidence
Sources consulted for this guide
National rules are separated from city and provider examples. Access dates show when a source was collected; source pages and procedures can change afterward.