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Your Child's Early Medical Story: How to Request Hospital Authority Records in Hong Kong
This guide helps adoptive families navigate how to obtain hospital records.
As adoptive parents, there's so much we want to know about our children's early lives, and medical records are one of the few concrete ways to fill in those early chapters. Whether you're looking for answers that help you support your child's health today, or want to have information ready for the questions they may ask someday, requesting hospital records is one of the most meaningful steps you can take as their advocate.
If your child was born in or received care at a Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) hospital, you can request copies of their medical records - a Data Access Request (DAR). Here's how.
Step 1: Prepare the DAR form
The Hospital Authority uses a standardized Data Access Request (DAR) form across its hospitals. You can:
- Download the Data Access Request form here; or
- Pick up a copy at the Medical Records Office of the hospital where your child received care; or
- Request it by calling the hospital's Medical Records Office.
The form allows you to specify which HA hospital you're requesting records from, so you can use the same form even if your child received care at multiple HA hospitals.
Step 2: Be specific about what you’re requesting
When you're filling out the form, it really helps to be as detailed as possible. Include:
- The dates your child was in hospital or received treatment;
- The types of records you're looking for, such as:
- Inpatient and outpatient notes (include any relevant specialties like pediatrics, neonatology, or cardiology);
- Blood test results and lab work;
- X-rays, ultrasounds, or other imaging;
- Reports from allied health professionals (like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, or dietitian notes).
The more specific you are, the more complete your records will be. If you're not sure what to ask for, the staff can usually help guide you.
Step 3: Submission
You can submit the form in-person to the relevant hospital or submit it by post. Details on how to submit by post are here including if the request is addressed to multiple hospitals.
You can only request these records after your adoption has been finalized, since you'll need to prove you're now your child's legal parent. Submit the form with:
- A copy of your adoption certificate; and
- A copy of your Hong Kong ID for verification.
- If submitting in-person you need to bring originals of the above as well to present at the hospital’s Medical Records office.
Step 4: There's a small fee involved
There will be a nominal fee to obtain the records — usually quite minimal, though it can vary slightly between hospitals. The staff will let you know the exact amount when you submit your application.
Step 5: Consider reviewing with your child's doctor
Hospital records can be detailed, and sometimes technical. If you're not sure how to interpret something, or if you'd just like to talk through what you've received, consider booking a follow-up appointment with your child's pediatrician or family doctor. It can be really helpful to review the records together. (Just give them a heads-up that you'll be bringing hospital records to discuss.)
Why this matters
You've probably already received a lot of health information through your child's social welfare file. But sometimes hospital records can offer you more context that might still be relevant to your child today, or answer questions they have in the future. It's one more piece of the puzzle.
At AFHK, we know that every adoptive family's journey is unique, and sometimes the administrative side of things can feel like just one more thing on an already long list. But taking this step to learn more about your child's early medical story is an act of love and care.
One of our members said the following:
“Given how little we knew about our daughter's start in life, the hospital records were really helpful in painting a picture of her time in hospital - it was of course heartbreaking to know that she had been suffering without us; but knowing the details has brought us closer to her and we want to be able to tell her as much as we can about her life before us. From a practical point of view, having the records has also given us clarity on her past medical procedures, vaccinations, etc. When we went to collect the data, we were actually lucky enough to be able to see the ward she was on but it is not guaranteed that everyone would be able to do this.”
If you have questions or want to share your own experience with accessing medical records, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach us at outreach@afhk.org.hk.
This guide was developed with insights from Adoptive Families Hong Kong members. For additional support and resources, connect with AFHK, local adoption organizations, and school counselling services.