Getting your medical records to China

Why this matters more than it sounds

The quality of the answer you get back depends almost entirely on the quality of what you send. A hospital asked to assess a cancer case from a two-line summary will decline or hedge. The same hospital, given the pathology report and the actual imaging, will usually come back with a specific plan and a real price.

This is also the step most likely to delay a trip, because it depends on other people's release processes rather than on anything we or you control. Start it early.

What to gather

• Imaging — the most recent CT, MRI, PET or ultrasound, as DICOM files on a disc or USB drive. Ask for the imaging study itself, not a printed report alone.
• Radiology reports — the written interpretation accompanying each study.
• Pathology — the report for any biopsy or resection. For cancer cases, ask whether slides or paraffin blocks can be released on loan; Chinese hospitals frequently want to re-read them.
• Operative notes — for any prior surgery relevant to the current problem.
• Discharge summaries — from any recent admission.
• Recent laboratory results — bloods, tumour markers, organ function panels.
• Current medication list — with doses, plus known allergies.

Imaging has to be DICOM

This is the single most common mistake. A photograph of a screen, or a JPEG exported from a portal, is not diagnostic. A radiologist needs the original DICOM data to adjust windowing, scroll through slices and take measurements. Sending pictures of scans usually means being asked to repeat the imaging in China at your own cost, and losing a week.

Ask your imaging provider for a disc or a secure electronic transfer of the full study in DICOM format. Most will do this on request; some charge a small fee.

How to request records

In the United States, HIPAA gives you a right of access to your own records. A provider must respond within 30 days, may charge a reasonable cost-based fee, and must give you an electronic copy if you ask for one and they hold it electronically. You do not need to explain why you want them.

In Canada, federal and provincial privacy legislation gives a comparable right of access, with timelines and fees varying by province.

Ask for a complete copy rather than a summary. If a records department asks why, saying you are seeking a second opinion is accurate and is the answer their process expects.

Translation

Send us the originals. We handle translation into Chinese for the reviewing department, and we translate what comes back into English before you fly home. You do not need to arrange translation yourself, and translating before we see the original can introduce errors that are hard to detect later.

How your records are handled

Records you upload are encrypted in transit and at rest, and shared only with the case management team assessing your case and the hospital being asked to treat you. We identify that hospital before anything is sent, and we ask for your explicit consent first. See our privacy policy for the detail.