Imagine you are asking a hospital in Shanghai whether a specialist can review your case. The reply is brief: “Please send your medical records.”
Your history is spread across a hospital portal, an email from a radiology clinic, a folder of phone photos, a pathology report and an old discharge summary. There is a CD, too, but your laptop has no drive. Where do you begin?
You could send everything at once and hope someone sorts it out. Before you do, ask whether the receiving team will be able to tell what happened, when it happened and what you want them to review.
That question matters before anyone books a flight. A remote review can help identify what information is missing and whether an in-person assessment warrants discussion. What can actually be reviewed depends on the specialist, the hospital and the records available.
What are you asking the specialist to review?
“I want a second opinion” is understandable. It still leaves the receiving team without a clear question. Is the existing diagnosis in question? Is there a proposed procedure the patient wants reviewed? Do they want to know whether this specialist can assess the case at all?
You do not have to resolve those clinical questions. You can state them clearly. A one-page summary gives the team a way into the records: the reason for the request, the diagnosis as recorded by the treating clinician, major tests and treatments in date order, current medicines where relevant, and the specific question for the specialist. It should say who prepared the summary and when. If a detail is uncertain, say so rather than filling the gap from memory.
Then attach the records behind that summary. A discharge letter from last month may explain a new development better than a long file from five years ago. In other cases, older pathology or prior scans may be essential for comparison. The receiving team should determine which records matter clinically; the patient’s job is to make relevant records available and identify what is missing.
There is also a China-specific step before sending the files: find out who will receive them. An international patient office may handle the first enquiry at one hospital; another may direct it through a particular department or coordinator. Ask that contact what language they accept, which records they want first and how they want large image files transferred. These are questions to confirm with the hospital, not rules that apply everywhere in China.
One published, anonymised MedBridgeNZ case has a less tidy ending than most medical travel stories. A patient waiting for hernia surgery at home wanted to know whether care in China was a workable alternative. MedBridgeNZ translated and organised medical records written in Italian and arranged a remote surgical review. The specialist outlined a preliminary pathway and assessments that would still be needed before surgery. Then the patient’s local appointment moved forward. The patient chose care at home, and the China trip did not go ahead. The record work helped keep both options open long enough to make that choice.
The imaging report is not the scan
Someone may have a PDF saying “MRI brain” and assume the specialist can review the MRI. The PDF is the radiologist’s written interpretation. If the specialist or radiologist needs to examine the study itself, they may also request the image files, often supplied in DICOM format, the standard used to store and exchange medical images. Earlier studies may be useful for comparison too.
Ask the imaging provider how to obtain a copy of the original study, not merely a screenshot or a picture of the screen. Keep the report with it. Before sending anything, check the receiving hospital’s instructions for uploading or transferring large files; a shared link that works for the patient may be blocked, expire or be inaccessible to the reviewer.
Cancer cases can involve another distinction. A pathology report describes what a laboratory found; a separate pathology review may require glass slides, preserved tissue blocks or other material from the original laboratory. Do not arrange to ship these on the basis of a general checklist. Ask the receiving institution whether it needs a separate pathology review and, if so, exactly what it accepts.
When the file crosses a border
Cross-border care adds dates, names and terminology that may not survive a hurried email thread. A scan may have been performed at one centre and reported at another. A medication may appear under a brand name familiar at home but unfamiliar to the receiving team. A pathology report may refer to an earlier sample that was never attached.
A simple file index helps more than elaborate formatting. Use a clear name for each item, such as 2026-08-14_CT_Chest_Report.pdf, and list the study date, document type and issuing facility in the index. Use the date the test was performed, not only the date the PDF was downloaded. Keep original documents intact; place any translated versions alongside them, clearly labelled as translations.
For a more detailed document checklist, MedBridgeNZ has a guide to preparing medical records for a China specialist review. The receiving hospital’s instructions should still guide what you send.
Translation needs judgment about scope. Not every page in a large medical history necessarily needs translating before the receiving team has seen the case. Ask what language the hospital accepts, which documents it wants translated and whether it requires a particular translation standard. Translate medical terms carefully, but do not silently “correct” a diagnosis or measurement in the source record. If the original is unclear, flag it for the clinician to interpret.
One handoff can prevent several rounds of emails
Before submission, it helps to run a practical check:
- Does the summary match the attached records, including dates and patient details such as name and date of birth?
- Are the key reports complete, with all pages readable?
- If imaging was requested, are the actual studies available in the format and transfer method the receiver accepts?
- If a pathology review was requested, has the receiving team confirmed whether physical material is needed?
- Does the patient know who will receive the files, and have they given the permission needed to share them?
The person gathering these files may also be working, caring for family and worrying about what the results mean. If an imaging file fails to open, tell them exactly what needs replacing and whom to ask. A vague request for “the scan again” sends them back through the same maze.
If you are coordinating the handoff, do not guess which records are clinically irrelevant. Confirm the receiving team’s requirements, track what has arrived, arrange translation when needed and tell the patient what is still outstanding. For MedBridgeNZ, a New Zealand-based medical concierge service, that means helping the specialist receive an organised file they can actually open and follow. The specialist makes the clinical assessment.
Know what comes next before booking travel
Once the records are submitted, ask what kind of response the patient can expect. Is it an eligibility screen, a written opinion, or a video consultation? Will a specialist review the original imaging, or only the reports initially supplied? Could an in-person examination or additional testing still be required? What is the expected timeframe, and who will explain the next step?
Ask before you book anything. A preliminary reply may still leave important questions open, and the patient’s clinician at home may need to see any eventual opinion.
If a file will not open, ask how the hospital wants it resent. If two documents give different treatment dates, flag the discrepancy rather than choosing one. Sorting out those small problems before travel gives the specialist a clearer case to review.
Sources
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, International Patient Appointments and Request an Appointment: remote second opinions and case-specific record requirements.
- MD Anderson Cancer Center, Prepare for Your Trip: distinction between diagnostic imaging, pathology reports and pathology materials.
- NHS England, How to make a subject access request: patients can request copies of their records from the provider that delivered their care.
