Visiting Peking University Third Hospital

I went to PUTH to buy finasteride and encountered various pitfalls. Here’s the full process; hope it helps.

What to bring

1. Even though you can pay with the digital medical insurance card, the hospital systems go down a lot, so bring the physical card just in case.
2. Appointment timing is wildly unpredictable, so take a power bank with you. If you don’t want to carry one, each floor has paid shared chargers.

Full visit flow

1. Make an appointment through the 114 WeChat public account.
   • Book 1–2 weeks ahead if you can; the Third Hospital’s slots disappear fast.
2. On the day of your visit, use the outpatient kiosk to print your number; you can scan Alipay’s digital insurance card, your physical insurance card, or your ID card.
3. After you have the number, go to the corresponding department. I went to dermatology, so I headed to the fifth floor.
4. Scan the QR code to join the queue. There’s no clear confirmation on screen, so if you’re unsure, ask a staff member to check.
5. Wait to be called according to the number on your ticket, and watch the display to get a sense of the current progress.
6. When it’s your turn, head into the consultation room. The doctor will prescribe the medication and you’ll receive a medical record slip, which is necessary for commercial insurance reimbursement.
7. Pay at any of the kiosks on each floor. When prompted for a password, the default for medical insurance accounts is six zeros. Entering the wrong password repeatedly will lock the card, and you’ll have to pay at the manual service window.
8. You can also print invoice copies at the kiosks. Some machines produce faint printouts that affect reimbursement, so double-check and switch machines if needed.
9. After paying, pick up your medication at the first-floor pharmacy.

Reimbursement

1. Since I needed to claim commercial insurance, I kept every receipt and submitted photos via the app.

Things that felt unreasonable

1. The kiosk complained about an incomplete address when I tried to print my number. Because the full address is long, it took a while to figure out that it only checks for keywords—entering something like “XX Road No. XX” works.
2. You scan a QR code to queue for the department, but you’re actually called in the kiosk ticket order. If your ticket is 59, expect 58 people ahead. The only way to estimate wait time is to watch the current number being called.
   • Other hospitals such as the 306 Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, and Peking University People’s Hospital call patients based on the QR registration order and show the queue on screen.
3. The kiosk suddenly asked me for a password during payment without explaining which password. After several failed attempts the machine rebooted—this happened on two different kiosks—so I had to pay at the manual window.
   • Staff later explained it’s the medical insurance payment password; the default is 000000. Entering it incorrectly multiple times locks the card, and you must visit the manual window to unlock it.
4. To pick up medication on the first floor, you first scan at a pillar-mounted machine and then wait. The success prompt appears at the bottom of the giant display rather than centered, so it’s easy to miss.

All in all, the patient experience at PUTH is middling right now—hopefully it improves over time.

Final Thoughts

First time at PUTH — average experience, but needs must; adapt to the process.