Chongqing sets outpatient booking rules on identity checks and changed clinic sessions

The Chongqing Health Commission issued its Outpatient Appointment Service Management Standard on 22 October 2026 under document 渝卫规〔2026〕3号. The standard takes effect from publication. It covers appointment services and their management at grade-two and higher medical institutions in Chongqing, excluding emergency departments, fever clinics, designated intestinal clinics and internet outpatient clinics; other medical institutions are to implement it by reference.

Booking channels and identity records

Covered institutions must establish appointment systems, offer channels including online, on-site and consultation-room booking, and provide a booking enquiry desk or telephone service. They must regularly publish appointment information and use time-specific appointments. The standard supports institutions able to do so in moving to fully appointment-based non-emergency registration.

Bookings must use real identities. Patients must provide genuine, valid identity documents and contact details when making appointments and attending. If another person books on a patient’s behalf, that person must also provide their own name, valid identity document and contact information. The institution must use a unique patient identity across registration, booking and care.

At the visit, the patient must use the same valid identity document used for the booking, in physical or electronic form. Staff must check that the patient’s identity agrees with the appointment record; a mismatch invalidates that appointment. The document does not specify which foreign identity documents every booking platform supports, so it does not by itself establish passport acceptance across all hospitals.

Time slots, cancellation and returning with results

In principle, institutions should offer appointments at least a week ahead, covering general, specialist and special-needs clinics, with all appointment places available through booking channels. Time-specific booking intervals should be no longer than 30 minutes. The separate aim of keeping average in-hospital waiting within 30 minutes is a service target, rather than a guaranteed wait for an individual visit.

A successful booking must tell the patient the time slot, department, doctor’s professional rank and how to cancel, as well as explain the consequences of missing an appointment without cancellation. If a patient cannot attend and cancels before that clinic session ends, without having received care, the institution should cancel the registration and operate a reasonable mechanism to return the place to availability. Uncancelled missed appointments are subject to a no-show management mechanism.

The standard also requires a mechanism for patients who need to return after the results of tests from the same visit become available, with a reasonable order for those return consultations. It encourages clinicians to arrange later follow-up or cross-department appointments during a consultation.

Changes to the doctor’s session and fees

An institution should not simply cancel an already booked service because a doctor stops a clinic session. Where a session must stop, it should promptly arrange a replacement session or another doctor of at least the same rank and inform the patient in advance.

Institutions must manage cooperating booking platforms and must not partner with third parties that charge additional fees. Registration and related charges must comply with pricing rules and be publicly transparent. Hospitals must publish doctor schedules, appointment availability and booking instructions through channels such as official websites and official public accounts.

For a patient planning care in Chongqing, these rules make identity consistency, representative details, cancellation procedures and schedule-change notices practical points to check before arranging a visit. They describe outpatient booking obligations within the stated scope, without granting insurance coverage or a separate entitlement to a particular specialist appointment.