Use this checklist to prepare for an overseas consultation and find out what still needs confirming before you book a trip.
1. Write a one-page summary
Note the main concern or diagnosis, when it began, care you have already received, current medicines and allergies, and the question you want answered. Include dates and the original names of tests or procedures. Make a list of reports and images you have, and note anything still pending.
If you are helping a relative, agree who will speak to the team and what information the patient is comfortable sharing. Ask what the specialist needs before sending a full record. Read how we handle records and consent.
2. Check who you will speak to
Write down the hospital, department and specialist’s name, and confirm which organisation will arrange and bill for the consultation. Ask what language the consultation will use, how interpretation is arranged, and whether you will receive a written summary.
Bring three questions: What options can the doctor discuss based on the records? What would need an in-person assessment? What would change the proposed timetable or cost? See what China Care’s remote consultation includes.
3. Get the plan in writing
Ask for the expected appointment dates, the estimated hospital stay, the proposed accommodation outside hospital and which dates are provisional. Get separate estimates for hospital care and coordination, then add your own travel expenses. Ask which costs can change and what happens to deposits if the plan changes.
Ask the treating team what needs to happen before you can travel home and what follow-up they recommend. Ask which records you can take back, including discharge notes, prescriptions, imaging and contact details. Check in advance whether your clinician at home can use those records and whether translations are needed.
