How we work
From your first message to follow-up at home
One coordinator, one written plan, and no charge until you decide to go ahead. This page sets out the whole process in the order it happens, including the parts we cannot control.
Independent patient coordination. Zero markup on your hospital bill. Not medical advice.
The four phases
What we actually do, phase by phase
Every case follows the same four phases. The clinical content changes; the coordination does not.
Consultation
You send your records through the consultation form. A coordinator reviews them with a clinician on our team, approaches the departments that actually treat your condition, and comes back with a proposed hospital, a named specialist and a written cost range.
Arrival
We issue the visa invitation letter, book accommodation within walking distance of the hospital, meet you at the airport and set up the practical side of the trip: local SIM, mobile payment, hospital registration and your itinerary in one place.
Treatment
Your bilingual coordinator accompanies every consultation, test and procedure, interprets in real time, and writes a short daily update for the family. You see the same physician each time wherever the department allows it.
Recovery and departure
Rehabilitation, traditional Chinese medicine support where it helps, recovery lodging, a bilingual discharge summary, imaging on disc and a written follow-up plan you can hand to your own doctor at home.
A typical trip
A 21-day surgical trip, day by day
This is a realistic timeline for an elective operation with an uncomplicated recovery — knee or hip replacement, gall bladder surgery, thyroid surgery and similar. Complex oncology, cardiac surgery and fertility treatment run to a different rhythm, and every date is set by the hospital, not by us.
Day 0 — first contact
You send one message
Use the consultation form or write to us directly. Tell us the diagnosis, what has been tried so far, and what you are hoping to solve. Attach whatever records you already have — nothing needs to be translated or certified at this stage.
Day 1 — records review
A coordinator reads your file
One coordinator takes ownership of your case and reviews the records with a clinician on our team. If China is not the right answer for your condition, or the timing does not work, we say so at this point rather than later.
Days 2–4 — hospital matching
We approach the departments that treat your condition
We contact the international departments that handle your diagnosis at volume — usually two or three — and ask for a specialist name, an earliest appointment window and an indicative price. You are told which hospitals we approached and why.
Days 4–7 — written estimate
You receive a written cost range
The hospital's international department issues an itemised range at its own published rate for foreign patients. Our flat service fee is quoted separately. Nothing is marked up, and you can take the range away and compare it with any other option.
Days 7–9 — decision and paperwork
You decide, then we start the paperwork
If you go ahead, a deposit reserves the service and puts your case in front of the hospital. We issue the visa invitation letter, normally within two to three business days, and confirm the first appointment date.
Day 9 — arrival
Airport pickup and settling in
A coordinator meets you at arrivals and takes you to accommodation near the hospital. The first day covers the practical essentials: local SIM, mobile payment, registration at the international department and a printed itinerary.
Day 10 — pre-operative assessment
Tests, imaging and anaesthesia review
Pre-operative work-up is usually completed in one or two days: bloods, imaging, cardiac and anaesthetic assessment. Your coordinator interprets at every appointment and sends the family a short summary the same evening.
Day 12 — the procedure
Surgery or the main treatment day
The treating team leads. Your coordinator stays at the hospital through the day, handles consent paperwork and translation, and messages the family as soon as you are in recovery.
Days 14–16 — inpatient recovery
Ward recovery with daily visits
Medication, wound care, pain management and first mobilisation. We write down every question you want answered and make sure it reaches the treating physician rather than being lost in translation.
Day 17 — discharge
Discharge and recovery lodging
You leave hospital with a bilingual discharge summary, a written medication list and the dates of any remaining review appointments. Most patients move to quieter recovery lodging for the last few days rather than flying immediately.
Days 19–20 — review and records
Final review and your record set
A closing appointment confirms that you are fit to fly and sets out what to watch for. You receive the full record set: discharge summary, operation note, pathology, imaging on disc and a translated summary for your own doctor.
Day 21 — fly home
Fly home with a written follow-up plan
We confirm your flights, arrange the transfer to the airport and give you a follow-up schedule with dates. Your coordinator stays reachable by email and WhatsApp after you land, and we help your local physician take over.
Days are counted from your first message, not from arrival. Individual cases vary: recovery time, ward availability and the treating physician's assessment decide every clinical date on this list.
Preparation
What we need from you
The more complete your file, the more precise the hospital's answer. Send what you have in the original language — we translate, and we do not need certified copies for a clinical review.
Clinical records
Anything that shows what has been found and what has already been tried.
- A current diagnosis or clinical summary from your treating physician, with the date it was written
- Discharge summaries from any hospital admission in the last five years
- Imaging on disc, or the original DICOM files, together with the radiology reports
- Laboratory results, including tumour markers, cultures and any specialised panels
- Pathology and biopsy reports, with the block or slide reference where you have it
- A medication list with doses, and how long you have taken each one
- Operation notes and implant details for any previous surgery
- Allergy record, and a vaccination record if the treatment may affect your immune system
Travel, identity and payment
Enough for us to quote accurately and prepare the visa letter.
- Passport biographic page for the patient and for every person travelling
- Any existing Chinese visa or residence permit, if you already hold one
- Travel insurance policy schedule and the insurer's 24-hour assistance number
- The payment method you intend to use — card or bank transfer, never the card details themselves
- Contact details for the person at home who will be our point of contact
- A short note, in your own words, of what you want from the trip
If you do not have records yet
That is workable. Tell us the symptoms, the city you are in and what you have been told so far, and we will advise on the smallest set of tests worth doing locally before a specialist review. What we cannot do is interpret a scan or a blood result ourselves — that is a physician's job, and it happens at the hospital.
Questions about the process
The practical questions patients ask before they send anything. Nothing here is medical advice.
How much of this can be settled before I book flights?
Almost all of the clinical and financial questions. Records review, hospital selection, the specialist's name, the earliest appointment window and a written cost range from the hospital all happen before you book anything. What cannot be fixed in advance is the exact length of stay — no hospital will guarantee that before it has examined you. Most patients therefore book flexible or changeable flights.
Do I need to travel to China just for a second opinion?
No. A remote review — records, imaging and a video call with a specialist — can be arranged first, and for some conditions it settles the question without travel at all. Your coordinator arranges the call, interprets if you need it and sends you a written summary afterwards. Mark the consultation form as a remote opinion only.
Can a family member travel with me, and can they stay in the ward?
Yes to travelling with you, and that is common. Whether a companion can stay overnight in the ward depends on the hospital and the ward type: some international departments allow one companion in a single room, others do not. Your hospital's rule is confirmed before you book, and we can arrange accommodation within walking distance either way.
What happens if the hospital's estimate turns out to be wrong?
The estimate is a written range, not a cap. Costs move when a stay runs longer, when a complication occurs, or when you and your physician choose an imported implant or a targeted drug outside the base package. The hospital issues a revised estimate before it proceeds beyond the agreed plan.
What if my treatment takes longer than my visa allows?
Short trips are often covered by visa-free entry, but treatment that runs beyond the permitted stay needs an extension or a different visa class. An S2 medical visa allows 30–180 days per entry and can be extended inside China while treatment continues. We prepare the hospital letter and help with the extension paperwork.
What support is there after I fly home?
You keep the same coordinator. We stay reachable by email and WhatsApp for questions about medication, wound care, appointment letters and the record set, and we translate anything your own doctor needs. If a complication appears after you land, we can put your local physician in touch with the treating department in China.
What we cannot do is practise medicine at a distance: any clinical decision after you leave hospital belongs to the physician who is examining you.
Start with one message
Send your records to hello@chinamedicalguides.com or use the consultation form. A coordinator replies within one business day with a proposed hospital, a named specialist and a written cost range — free, and with no obligation to travel.