How to get electronic medical receipts in China

Collect the receipt through the hospital's official channel

After settling a bill at a hospital in China, obtain the receipt issued by the hospital and save the electronic file. Even if your phone shows a payment record, collect the corresponding medical fee receipt and itemized charges separately. Check which documents are required before sending them to an insurer.

This article concerns electronic medical fee receipts supervised by China's fiscal authorities. Collection channels vary by hospital. If you receive a different type of invoice, follow the issuing institution's instructions.

Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH)'s instructions dated 20 January 2025 state that the hospital fully introduced electronic medical fee receipts on 1 October 2024. After settlement, patients can obtain them through the hospital's official WeChat account or app, or print them at a self-service machine.[1]

In its official WeChat account, 北京协和医院, open Personal center (个人中心), choose Electronic receipts (电子票据), find the relevant payment record, select View receipt (查看票据), and download it. In the app, Electronic receipts is under Me (我) at the bottom right of the home screen.[1]

Open the downloaded file and check that it relates to this visit. A screenshot of a successful payment may omit the receipt code, number and charge information. The Ministry of Finance's medical receipt reform notice also provides a separate itemized medical charge statement for use with the receipt.[2] Ask the hospital for this if needed; a summary receipt may not be the complete set of documents.

These channels apply to PUMCH's published procedure and should not be assumed to apply to other hospitals. If a foreign patient cannot link an account or retrieve a receipt, explain the visit number, identity document type and payment date to the cashier handling the payment, and ask how to collect it.

In Shanghai, ask about receiving the receipt by email

A Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau answer dated 13 May 2025 states that the issuing institution is responsible for providing fiscal electronic receipts. If an email address was supplied when the receipt was issued, the payer can obtain it through that address. Otherwise, contact the issuer to arrange a copy and ask for it to be emailed.[3]

If your bill has been settled but you have only received a payment notification, you can tell the hospital: “I need the electronic medical fee receipt for this visit. Where can I download it? Can it be sent to my email?” Check with the issuing hospital first; a Shanghai platform's login conditions are not nationwide requirements.

For those who already have the receipt details and can use Suishenban, the Shanghai answer gives another route: Me (我的) → My receipts (我的票据) → Collect (归集) → Receipt search (票据查询). Enter the receipt code, receipt number and verification code to search, collect and obtain the receipt.[3] This requires the relevant account and receipt information; it does not establish that foreign patients can log in directly with a passport.

Check the receipt details and status

Check the payer, receiving hospital, issue date, items and amount. The Ministry of Finance's Measures for the Administration of Fiscal Electronic Receipts lists these details, together with the receipt code, number and verification code, as basic elements. It also requires the issuer to explain the information entered on its receipts.[4] If a name or amount is in doubt, contact the hospital and keep the original file rather than editing it yourself.

To verify a receipt, use the fiscal electronic receipt public service platform announced by the fiscal authorities. PUMCH's instructions also list Receipt verification (票据查验) in the official WeChat account 财政票据, where the QR code in the top right of an electronic receipt can be scanned for verification.[1][4]

If you have received a refund, check the old receipt's status again. The Ministry's measures require an offsetting red-letter receipt when information is incorrect or a refund occurs, with the original marked as reversed (已冲红).[4] PUMCH's instructions state that an old receipt showing 已开红票 after a refund can no longer be used as a reimbursement document.[1] Obtain the corresponding receipt after the hospital has processed the change rather than continuing to submit the old file.

Identify missing documents before submitting them

Fiscal electronic receipts and paper fiscal receipts have the same legal effect in China.[4] This does not replace an overseas insurer's specific answer about documents and claims. Before sending files to an insurer or employer, check its requirements for receipts, itemized charges, proof of payment and medical records separately, then determine whether translation is needed.

If you need help contacting the hospital or communicating in another language, use the SinoCareHub contact page to explain the hospital, visit date and missing document. With authorization, SinoCareHub can assist with hospital communication and language support.[5] The issuing institution provides and corrects receipts; the insurer decides claims.

For budgeting and payment preparation, see Medical costs and payment in China.