Guide

DICOM files and English MRI reports from China

Rules checked 26 October 2026 (Taipei time)

If you have an MRI or CT in China and want a doctor at home to use it, you need two things: the images as DICOM files, and a report your doctor can read. The first is your legal right; the second you have to arrange.

• Patients may copy their imaging records; the hospital may charge a cost fee and must publish it (State Council Decree 701, article 16).
• Since the 2024 national pricing guideline, film is optional and sold at no mark-up; digital images and cloud storage are in the exam price.
• Hospitals that cannot offer cloud storage of images must charge less.
• We found no official rule on English reports.

Your right to copies of the images

The Regulation on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes (State Council Decree No. 701, in force since 1 October 2018) says in article 16 that patients have the right to see and copy their medical records, including imaging materials. The hospital must provide a copying service and stamp the copies. The patient or a close relative must be present when records are copied, and the hospital may charge a cost fee whose rate must be made public. The regulation does not mention DICOM, discs or USB drives, so ask for the format you need.

Film, digital images and cloud storage

The national radiology pricing guideline issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration in November 2024, as reported by China News Service, made two changes visitors notice. Image processing, upload and cloud storage became part of the exam price, and hospitals that cannot store images in the cloud must charge less. Printed film was taken out of the exam price, so you buy it only if you want it, at cost. In Shanghai, film is ¥20 a sheet. Beijing's schedule takes ¥5 off when a hospital cannot provide digital images.

Cloud images usually come as a QR code or link on the report. These are convenient for viewing on a phone; ask whether the link also lets you download the original files. We could not confirm whether the national insurance imaging cloud is open to foreigners paying out of pocket. A disc or USB drive with DICOM files is the safest thing to take home.

What to ask for, in writing

1. "All images in DICOM format, on a disc or USB drive." Ask before the scan, and ask the price of the copy.
2. "The full radiology report, signed and stamped." Reports are normally in Chinese.
3. An English report, if offered. International departments and coordinators may provide one; confirm who writes it and the cost.
4. Check the disc before you leave, on a computer if possible, to see that it opens and has all series.

Sharing results between Chinese hospitals

If you have more than one scan in China, national rules limit repeat exams. Results marked "HR" under the 2022 mutual-recognition measures should not be repeated if they meet the clinical need, although doctors' conclusions are excluded and the receiving doctor decides. A 2024 guiding opinion set targets for every public hospital at Grade 2 and above to view other hospitals' results by the end of 2025, and for nationwide sharing by 2027. These rules do not cover hospitals outside China.

Related: how a scan is ordered in China, knee MRI cost, the price table and the China MRI cost overview.