The “exclusive channel” and “VIP service” standardized process launched by China's tertiary hospitals for international patients is aimed at solving the language barriers, unfamiliarity with the process, cultural differences and other pain points of international patients in the process of medical treatment through standardized, humanized and internationalized services, while enhancing the hospital's international service level. The aim is to solve language barriers, unfamiliarity with procedures and cultural differences in the process of international patients' medical treatment through standardized, humanized and internationalized services, and at the same time to improve the international service level of hospitals. The following is a standardized process framework based on the practical experience of domestic top tertiary hospitals (e.g. Peking Union Medical College Hospital International Department, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital Special Needs Medical Center, West China Hospital International Medical Department, etc.):
I、 Pre-consultation and booking: omni-channel coverage, accurate matching of demand
1. Multi-language counseling service
- Set up a 24-hour international patient service line (in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and other commonly used foreign languages), equipped with bilingual customer service, to provide information such as hospital introduction, departmental advantages, expert expertise, consultation process, and cost description.
- Open online consultation platform (hospital official website/APP international version, WeChat public number/small program English interface), support graphic and video consultation, real-time answer to visa, insurance, accommodation and other derivative issues.
2. Appointment hierarchy management
- Patients submit basic information (name, nationality, contact information, chief complaint, past medical history, type of insurance, etc.) through the dedicated line or online platform, and the system automatically categorizes them into “general specialty”, “specialist outpatient”, “multidisciplinary consultation” and “multidisciplinary consultation”. The system automatically categorizes patients into “General Specialist”, “Specialist Clinic”, “Multidisciplinary Consultation (MDT)”, “Emergency Clinic”, and so on.
- Priority appointment channels are provided: general specialties respond within 24 hours, specialist outpatient clinics are arranged within 3 working days, and emergency/critical patients can be directly connected to the green channel of the Emergency Department (the degree of urgency of the condition must be specified in advance).
3. Pre-approval of materials and reminders
- Customer service informs us in advance of the international common materials to be prepared (passport/visa, overseas medical insurance policy, English translations of past medical records and examination reports, vaccination certificates, etc.), and provides translation templates or recommendations of cooperative translation organizations (to ensure compliance with the standard of medical records in Chinese hospitals).
- For patients covered by insurance, we assist in docking with insurance companies for pre-qualification (e.g., confirming whether direct payment is made, deductible, etc.), so as to reduce the trouble of repeated submission of materials on site.
II、Arrival and Reception: Seamless Transition and Elimination of Strangeness
1. Transportation and arrival assistance
- Provide airport/high-speed rail station pick-up/pick-up service (advance reservation is required), with bilingual drivers and first aid kits, disinfectant supplies, drinking water, etc. in the vehicles.
- Detailed route guide (including English navigation links and landmarks) will be sent, and ambulance or wheelchair transportation can be coordinated for special patients (e.g. those with mobility problems).
2. Admission registration and identity verification
- Set up an exclusive service desk for international patients (with conspicuous signs and bilingual guides) to assist in registration, medical insurance/registration, identity verification (original passport + photocopy), and deposit payment (international credit cards and cross-border RMB payment are supported).
- Issuance of “International Patient Guide Card” (bilingual), which contains key information such as location of consultation departments, examination time, location of restaurants/convenience stores, and emergency contact phone numbers.
3. Cultural and environmental adaptation
- Provide customized environmental services: e.g. religious prayer room, vegetarian/halal meal reservation, translation equipment rental (supporting multi-language real-time transcription), barrier-free facilities (blind alleys, wheelchair access).
- Bilingual guides accompany the whole process and assist in operating the self-service machine, medicine collection, payment and other processes to avoid the loss of efficiency due to language barriers.
III、diagnosis and treatment service: professional and humanistic at the same time
1. Multilingual medical and nursing team
- Core departments (e.g. orthopedics, oncology, cardiovascular) are equipped with full-time/part-time bilingual doctors/nurses (who need to pass the hospital's language proficiency test, and some hospitals require IELTS 6.5 or equivalent English level), and interpreters are arranged for the whole process of key checkups/surgeries.
- Emergency/critical patients can directly contact the “International Medical Emergency Response Team”, where multilingual doctors and nurses + specialists work together to ensure zero error in communication.
2. Efficient diagnosis and treatment process
- Priority examination and test: the appointment time for international patients' examination (CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc.) is compressed to 24 hours (usually 3-5 days for general patients), and the test report is pushed in real time through exclusive APP/email (with English interpretation).
- MDT rapid response: multidisciplinary consultation (covering experts from relevant departments + interpreters) is organized within 24 hours for difficult cases, and the consultation conclusions are formed into Chinese and English reports, which are synchronized to the patient and the attending doctor outside the country.
3. Privacy and Security
- Strictly abiding by the Personal Information Protection Law and Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes, international patients' medical records are stored separately and encrypted, and access rights are managed in a hierarchical manner (only authorized medical personnel can view them).
- Foreign medical documents (diagnostic certificates, prescriptions, examination reports) are bilingual, in line with WHO international medical document standards, and support the needs of notarization and consular authentication.
4. Cost transparency and payment
- Provide real-time inquiry of expense list (APP/SMS notification), with item names, unit prices and quantities labeled in detail (in both Chinese and English) to avoid hidden charges.
- Support international insurance direct payment (cooperation with MSH, Allianz and other international insurance organizations), patients only need to sign to confirm, no need to advance the cost; cash/card payment support for the dollar, the euro and other mainstream currencies (according to the exchange rate of the day settlement).
IV、Discharge and Follow-up: Continuing Care and Building Long-term Trust
1. Discharge guidance and translation
- Before discharge, the nurse in charge will provide multi-language rehabilitation guidance (medication, diet, exercise precautions), and issue Chinese and English version of Discharge Summary (including diagnosis results, treatment plan, follow-up plan).
- Assist in booking return air ticket/high-speed rail ticket, contact hotels/b&b to confirm accommodation needs (e.g. barrier-free facilities, accompanying accommodation requirements).
2. Remote follow-up and consultation
- We will set up an exclusive follow-up file for international patients, and provide remote follow-up visits (with bilingual medical and nursing participation) for 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation by email or video link, and coordinate with domestic experts to issue review recommendations when necessary.
- Open the “International Medical Consultation Hotline” (non-emergency) to answer questions during the recovery period and reduce the cost of cross-border follow-up for patients.
3. Satisfaction feedback and optimization
- Send electronic questionnaires (in Chinese and English) within 72 hours after discharge to collect evaluations of the service process, medical and nursing attitudes, facilities and environment, focusing on “language communication efficiency”, “waiting time”, “privacy protection”, “privacy protection”, and so on. We focus on “language communication efficiency”, “waiting time”, “privacy protection” and other dimensions.
- The hospital holds regular review meetings on international patient services, optimizes the process in response to feedback (such as increasing the number of small-language interpreters in reserve and shortening the waiting time for examinations), and continuously improves the quality of services.
V、Standardized Support: System and Training Guarantee
1. Service standard documents
Formulate the Operation Manual of International Patient Service, clearly define the responsibilities of each position (customer service, medical guide, medical care, finance), service time limit (e.g. appointment response time ≤ 30 minutes), speech standardization (avoiding culturally sensitive expressions), and contingency plan (e.g. patient's sudden illness, loss of documents).
2. Personnel qualification and training
- Bilingual healthcare professionals must pass the “International Medical Service Competency Certification” (covering medical English, cross-cultural communication, and foreign etiquette), and participate in at least two retraining sessions per year (e.g., the latest international medical guidelines, and small-language reinforcement).
- The counselors are required to master basic medical terms (e.g. “hypertension”, “diabetes”) and common national customs (e.g. Arab patients' prohibition of alcohol, Indian patients' preference for vegetarianism).
3. Information system support
We have built an international patient service platform, which integrates the functions of appointment booking, consultation guidance, payment and follow-up, and interfaces with the hospital's HIS system to achieve data interoperability (e.g., automatic synchronization of examination results to the patient's APP).
Ⅵ、Summary
The standardized process of the exclusive channel for international patients in China's tertiary hospitals is aimed at solving the core pain points of international medical treatment through the four dimensions of “full-cycle coverage, multi-language support, specialized services, and humanized care”, and at the same time, promoting the convergence of hospital services with international medical standards. In the future, with the advancement of the “Healthy China” strategy and the growth of cross-border medical demand, such services are expected to be further refined (e.g., increase the coverage of small languages, deepen insurance cooperation), and become an important window for the internationalization of China's medical care.