The State Administration for Market Regulation has approved the new national standard GB/T 48666—2026, known as OFD-H, for electronic medical record document formats. This standard, developed by the National Health Commission and other institutions, will officially take effect on April 29, 2027.
The OFD-H standard is based on the domestic OFD format, often referred to as China's version of PDF. It incorporates commercial cryptographic technologies to ensure data security, verify document origins, and prevent unauthorized tampering with medical records.
The standard introduces a document-as-an-interface approach to facilitate data sharing between different medical institutions. It supports the integration of medical notes, imaging, audio, video, and structured data, enabling both human-readable and machine-readable formats.
By standardizing medical records, the initiative aims to reduce storage and exchange costs while supporting clinical research and AI applications. It also enables the creation of comprehensive health records that patients can access and manage via mobile devices.
Moving forward, government departments plan to promote the adoption of OFD-H in smart hospitals and primary care facilities. This effort is part of a broader strategy to improve the continuity of health services and support the digital transformation of the healthcare sector.
