The distance between a good hospital and a good outcome is usually administration.
Records that arrive in the wrong format, a slot that moves by a week, a consent form nobody translated. Each one is small. Together they are the whole trip.
One coordinator owns your file from beginning to end. You will have their direct contact, and you will not be handed to a different name at each stage.
Timelines below assume a straightforward case with records already available. Complex surgical cases, rare disease and paediatric referrals routinely take longer, and we will tell you so at the outset rather than after you have booked flights.
Complete the enquiry form with the diagnosis, or with symptoms if there is no diagnosis yet. Attach whatever records you hold — reports, imaging discs, pathology, current medication. Messy is fine; we will structure it.
If you have nothing in writing yet, say so. We can still advise which specialty should see you first.
10 minutes of your timeYou receive a written recommendation naming one to three hospitals from the 25, the department that should lead, an indicative medical cost range based on comparable cases, and our service fee — 20% of the hospital’s estimated medical charges up to USD 10,000, 12% from USD 10,000 to USD 30,000 and 8% above that.
If we believe treatment in China is not in your interest — because the procedure is better done where you are, or because the case is too advanced for travel — we will say that instead.
Small cases are quoted differently: the fee is never less than USD 500 (estimates below USD 2,500), and it is capped at USD 8,000 per case. You see the exact fee at this stage, before any travel is booked.
1–2 business daysOnce you approve, we translate and submit your full records, obtain the appointment, and confirm the attending physician. In parallel we issue your visa support documents, hold accommodation options and arrange airport pickup.
You receive an appointment letter with the exact building, floor and entrance — hospital campuses in China are large, and the international wing is rarely the main gate.
3–10 business daysA driver meets you at the airport. Registration is completed before you arrive wherever the hospital permits it. Your interpreter is with you for the consultation, every investigation, and the discussion of results.
After each appointment you get a written plain-language summary, so family abroad are not relying on a phone call you are too tired to make.
For the duration of your stayBefore you fly home you receive a translated discharge summary, an itemised invoice formatted for your insurer, a medication schedule with generic names, and any follow-up imaging schedule.
If you consent, we send the summary to your doctor at home and arrange a short call between them and the treating team.
Within 5 days of discharge
The distance between a good hospital and a good outcome is usually administration.
Records that arrive in the wrong format, a slot that moves by a week, a consent form nobody translated. Each one is small. Together they are the whole trip.
These are planning estimates, not commitments. Clinical urgency can compress them; visa processing and hospital scheduling can extend them.
| Type of visit | Time on the ground | What it typically covers |
|---|---|---|
| Remote second opinion | No travel | Records translation, written specialist review, translated response. 5–10 business days end to end. |
| Diagnostic visit | 4–7 days | Consultation, imaging, bloodwork, and a results discussion. Allows for sequencing of tests that cannot all happen on one day. |
| Elective surgery | 14–21 days | Pre-operative assessment, the procedure, inpatient recovery, wound review and discharge. Add a week for complex or major procedures. |
| Oncology treatment course | 3–6 weeks | Staging, a multidisciplinary plan, and a first block of treatment. Longer courses are usually split into visits rather than one continuous stay. |
| Health screening | 2–3 days | Executive assessment with imaging, cardiology and laboratory panels, plus a physician debrief before departure. |
| Chinese medicine programme | 7–14 days | Assessment, a course of acupuncture or tuina, herbal prescription, and instruction for continuation at home. |
Estimates exclude travel days and visa processing time, which varies by nationality and season. Confirm current processing times with your local Chinese embassy before booking flights.
China does not operate a separate medical visa category. Patients normally travel on a visitor or business visa appropriate to their circumstances, supported by hospital appointment confirmation and, where the hospital issues one, an invitation letter. Requirements differ by nationality. We provide the documents and a checklist; the embassy decides.
Some international policies do, particularly those with worldwide inpatient cover; many exclude elective treatment abroad or require pre-authorisation. Several pilot hospitals, notably in Shenzhen, bill insurers directly. We help you check eligibility and prepare the paperwork, but authorisation is between you and your insurer.
Yes, and it is usually advisable for surgical cases. Companions need their own visa and accommodation. Private and international wards generally permit one companion to stay overnight; public general wards may not. We confirm the specific hospital’s policy before you book.
It happens, most often when the condition is beyond what the receiving department can safely treat, or when the patient is not fit to fly. If the first hospital declines, we approach the next on the shortlist at no additional fee. If all decline, our fee for that stage is refunded.
Health data is treated as sensitive personal information under Chinese law. We obtain your explicit consent before processing it, restrict access to the coordinator and translator on your case, transmit records through encrypted channels, and delete them on request after your episode of care ends. Full detail is in our privacy policy.
No. We are paid only by you, at our published banded rate on medical charges. That is deliberate: a coordinator paid by the hospital has an incentive to send you to the hospital that pays best, not the one that treats your condition best.
If you have neither, write anyway and describe what is happening. We will tell you what to gather.