Q: During the Olympics, a large number of foreign visitors will flock to Beijing to watch games and tour around the city. So my question is: if a foreign visitor got sick and wanted to see a doctor, where should he/she go? Is it possible to swipe foreign currency cards in a Chinese hospital? Is there any difference between foreigners and Beijing residents in terms of charges for medical care?

A: 24 hospitals in Beijing are designated to provide medical services for foreign visitors during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. All these hospitals can provide “Green Passages” (through which you can avoid unnecessary formalities), “bilingual guidance” and “special clinics” for foreigners.

Bilingual signs in both Chinese and English have been set up in hospitals for the convenience of foreigners. Besides, for special needs of the disabled, barrier-free facilities, such as lifts with low level controls, cash registers at reachable level, and barrier-free, mixed-sex toilets, etc, are also available. When in hospital, a foreigner needs to create his/her own medical records, which can be photocopied according to related rules and regulations. The diagnosis certificate can satisfy foreign visitors’ needs to have their expenses reimbursed by insurance companies after returning to their home countries.

According to the BOCOG’s arrangement, the designated hospital for athletes is China-Japan Friendship Hospital, that for the BOCOG officials is Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and that for registered journalists is Beijing Anzhen Hospital. All medical treatment in these hospitals will be free during the Olympics.

POS (Point of Sale) Machines are available in all the 24 designated hospitals; therefore, foreigners can use VISA, MasterCard, or any other foreign currency bank card which is commonly used throughout the world to pay their medical expenses. Foreigners can enjoy full national treatment in terms of charges; in other words, the medical service for foreigners will be charged at the same rate as that for local people, on the basis of the uniform price level of hospitals in Beijing.
  
Before the Olympics, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau and Beijing Tourism Administration published the Beijing Emergency Medical Services Guide with 8 language versions including English, Japanese, German, French, Russian, etc and put them in the airport, hotels, and some other places that foreigners may visit. Foreign visitors can get the Guide for free as soon as they arrive in Beijing. This brochure contains names, addresses, contact numbers of hospitals, thus it will be very helpful to foreigners who need medical service. Furthermore, the red Chinese character on the cover, which means “help”, could be shown to Chinese speakers if the brochure holder desperately requires assistance. There must be someone who can help.