If you need to see a doctor in Beijing either because you fall ill or have an accident during your Beijing trip, you won’t feel hopeless since there are about 30 high-level hospitals offering special foreign clinics.
These high-level hospitals have special outpatient departments for foreigners including foreign visitors, foreign students, foreign employees, foreign ambassadors to China and foreign specialists in China.
If you cannot go to a hospital on your own, you may dial the emergency number 120 for an ambulance.
Before you see a doctor in Beijing or other parts of China, it is advisable to have some basic knowledge of the big cultural differences between China and the West with respect of medical care.
Vast cultural differences between China and the West in seeing a doctor
1. In China patients just simply show up at the hospital or clinic. No prearranged appointment is necessary, except for surgical procedures. In the West you may wait for weeks, even months to privately consult your doctor in a private room.
Here in China, you don’t have to look for a doctor to make an appointment, and just go to the hospital if you want to. You’d better to go to the hospital early to avoid a possible long queue at the registration counter.
2. After you register to see a doctor, you have to pay up front before receiving consultation service.
You are supposed to line up for registration and pay the registration for about RMB 5.
3. Then you sit in a crowded waiting room with many other people for your turn to see a doctor.
Unlike many hostpials in the west which have very good environ similar to a hotel, the hospitals in Beijing China tend to be very crowded and full of patients.
4. Your physician will examine you and prescribe treatment. In a Chinese medical office, family members, and even passersby is free to watch your examination. No privacy in Chinese hospitals is expected; illness and bodily functions are simply accepted.
It often happens that there is little privacy in Chinese hospitals.
5. After seeing a doctor, you buy all the necessary drugs, either from the in-house pharmacy or outside.
6. No Chinese ever goes to a doctor alone. Family members, friends, or colleagues will accompany their sick relatives or friends. Without a companion, you may feel lose face.
So always ask someone to accompany to see a doctor.
Below is a list of majorhigh-level hospitals accepting foreigners with with English speaking staff:
China-Japan Friendship Hospital
Add: Yinghua East St,Hepingli,Chaoyang District,Beijing
Beijing United Family Clinic in Shunyi District, Beijing Pinnacle Plaza #818, Tian Zhu
Shunyi District, Beijing 101312
Tel: (8610) 8046-1102
GlobalDoctor, Ltd. Clinics staffed by English-speaking doctors within the VIP wards of government-run hospitals in Chengdu, Nanjing, and Beijing. 24 Hour rescue hotline: (8610) 58151188
Fax: (8610) 58151128
Website: http://www.globaldoctor.com.au
International SOS Operates modern medical and dental clinics; provides medical evacuation and medical escort services in Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Shekou, with multilingual coordinators and doctors on duty. 24hr Alarm Centers in Beijing and Shanghai
Tel: (8610) 64629100
Website: www.internationalsos.com/en/asia-pacific_china.htm
Portman Clinic – World Link
Shanghai Center 203 West 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu
Shanghai 200040
Appointments: (8621) 6279-8678
Tel: (8621) 6279-7688
Fax: (8621) 6279-7698
Vista Clinic B29 Beijing Kerry Center, No.1 Guanghua Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100020
Tel: 010-85296618
Fax: 010-85296615
Website http://www.vista-china.net/
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
