How to go to the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other medically developed countries to see a doctor?Do I have to go through a referral structure?Can I do it myself and save the referral fee?
The answer is "Yes"!
Below, I will sort out a super detailed list for you".2023 version of the self-help (DIY) strategy for going abroad to see a doctorIf you are interested, collect it.
*: Photo.com.
Step 1:Choose a foreign hospital and doctorThe concept of foreign countries is very big, and you must first choose a country to see a doctor abroad, and then choose the *** of this country and which doctor to find in this hospital. The criteria for this selection vary and are influenced by many factors:
First of allPatient's condition: Which foreign country and which doctor is better at it?
And then there'sMedical expenses: Is it a blind choice of a higher level of medical care?Or do you still have to fully consider the cost performance of medical treatment?
And there isOther influencing factors: Including physical distance (can the patient withstand a long-distance flight?).), family relations (do you have any family members who live and work abroad?).), overseas medical insurance (have you ever purchased insurance that can cover the medical expenses of foreign hospitals?).), language ability (whether the problem of language differences can be solved), etc. Of course, the vast majority of patients will still choose the United States, because the core need to go abroad for medical treatment is to get better**. As of now, the United States is still the "highland" of major and complex diseases such as cancer in the world. But there are also five or six thousand hospitals in the United States, with nearly one million doctors, which hospital and which doctor should patients choose?If it is referred through the Shengnuo family,We will issue a "medical analysis report" for each patient according to their condition, match them with suitable hospitals and doctors around the world, and screen them according to "which point is more important" and "which problem needs to be solved more urgently" in the patient's condition. The "Global Medical Resource Matching" of Sinomax is implemented by a dedicated "International Cutting-edge Medical Technology Information R&D" team, which has accumulated thousands of patient service cases and a global hospital doctor database in the past 13 years, forming a set of effective methods and obtaining themNational invention patent
Shengnuo's global medical resource matching has won the national invention patentIf the patient chooses the hospital doctor by himself, if he does not know the American hospital, he can refer to:U.S. News & World Report magazine publishes a book every year called Best Hospitals. This book summarizes the annual U.S. Hospital Rankings and the top hospitals by specialty. For example, in the 2023 U.S. Hospital Rankings released by U.S. News & World Report, the top five cancer specialties are MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, UCLA Medical Center, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute affiliated to Harvard Medical School. These five hospitals are all contracted cooperative hospitals of Shengnuo, and there are special personnel to connect and refer more efficiently. However, if the patient wants to self-help and the time for medical treatment is not so urgent, he can also contact him. It is usually an email application to the international department of the hospital, and the feedback time varies greatly from hospital to hospital. But patients need to be aware that:Just looking at the rankings can only be used as a reference to a certain extent. For example, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is ranked behind MD MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2023, but if it is a childhood eye cancer (retinoblastoma), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center may have an advantage at the moment. Because the first eye cancer center in the United States is located here, and in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, a new method to change childhood eye cancer** is available, so that the vast majority of children with eye cancer can get it**. Shengnuo not only has a business-to-business cooperation agreement with the hospital, but also a group of foreign big-name doctors who have signed contracts for cooperation, including the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a professor at the affiliated hospital of Harvard Medical School, and the formulator of clinical practice guidelines for major cancers. These big-name doctors have received Chinese patients in the past, patient satisfaction, etc., which can provide more references for patients to choose foreign hospitals and doctors. 
Professor Eric Winer, Director of the Yale Cancer Center and Chairman of ASCO, shared breast cancer in a live broadcast room of Shengnuo.
Step 2:Collate, translate, and send patient medical records to hospitalsAfter choosing a foreign hospital and doctor, the second step is: how to get there?The Xi of seeing a doctor in China is to find the ** place of this hospital and queue **. Of course, now we can also use the online ** or ***But in the United States, there is no such thing as "**" and there is no **. So how do I make an appointment?How can I make a successful appointment?Making an appointment doesn't mean telling the hospital in the U.S. that I'm a breast cancer patient, or a lung cancer patient, but you need to provide the hospital with very complete patient medical record information. After that, doctors at U.S. hospitals look at the patient's medical records to determine whether they can accept it. Generally speaking, when the patient finds Shengnuo's family, he has seen many hospitals in China, and even has been hospitalized many times, and has undergone some surgeries, or other **. Their rich medical experience leads to a very thick medical record, including surgical records, examination reports, pathology reports, etc. It is impossible for all of this information to be translated and provided to hospitalsHospitals in the U.S. would not receive such a complex amount of medical record information. How to solve this problem?Shengnuo family has a special medical team, medical assistant team, and medical translation team to deal with it, to help patients sort out the necessary medical records, write abstracts, and then translate them into standard medical records that meet the requirements of different hospitals, which has basically reached the level of exemption from inspection in foreign hospitals. 
Example of a standard English medical record, but if the patient is doing it himself, it is recommendedSeek the help of the attending physician in China to organize the patient's medical record information into a summary of the medical record. This must be handled by a professional, and it is better to have a Chinese doctor who has studied in a US hospital to help. The medical record summary may be 10 or 15 pages. Patients and their families must personally review the Chinese version, because it is impossible for others to know more about the patient's condition. The summary of the medical record is also crucial, not only determining whether the hospital can accept it, but also an important basis for American doctors to understand the patient's past medical history. Once you have decided on the Chinese version of the medical record summary, you need to find someone who is proficient in both medicine and English to translate it. Some people say that you can find someone to translate on online platforms such as **, and the price is very cheap. We do not recommend this for patients because it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the translation. The following is a random excerpt from the medical record of a patient referred by Shengnuo's family, you know that if you only know English and don't understand medicine, you can't do this: "After two cycles of chemotherapy, I was re-examined on June 28, and the recent chest CT showed that the left anterior mediastinal mass had a maximum cross-section of about 37×5.9 cm, slightly smaller than before, multiple swollen lymph nodes in the double supraclavicular area, mediastinum, and bilateral hila, partially fused, most of which were reduced or similar to before. "Once the medical records are translated, they need to be converted into DICOM format and sent to the international patient office of the U.S. hospital where the appointment is requested, along with the imaging data and pathology report. After receiving the patient's medical records, the U.S. hospital will transfer them to the appropriate experts to determine whether to accept the patient to the hospital for medical treatment. If there is a problem with the translated medical records, or if the patient is so sick that the U.S. hospital can't help much, there is a good chance that the patient will be rejected.
Step 3:Pay the estimated cost to the hospitalIf the U.S. hospital agrees to accept the patient, an appointment letter is sent to the patient. The appointment letter will clearly state the time, place and specialist of the first visit. Along with the appointment letter, there is also a cost estimate that tells you how much the patient may incur. Once you receive this letter, you will need to pay the estimated cost to the U.S. hospital in advance. As for how to pay, you can consult your bank. 
MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States issued an estimated cost to a Shengnuo patient.
Of course, if it is a customer of Sinomax, we will provide specialized cross-border financial guidance and services. In some U.S. hospitals, a Shengnuo patient also enjoys 5%-% of the exclusive medical fee waiver discount. It is on the basis of the general discount for international patients, and then 5%-Since medical expenses are the bulk of the expenses of patients who go abroad to see a doctor, this additional discount on medical expenses can often help patients save a lot of money.
Step 4:Apply for a medical visaThe next step is to apply for a medical visa, which is again a more complicated matter. If you have a valid U.S. visa, you do not need to reapplyBut if not, be sure to apply for a medical visa. Some people on the Internet say that tourist visas are also okay. It is recommended that you approach it with cautionMedical visas and tourist visas both fall under BThe duration of stay is 6 months, but the nature is completely different. Usually when it comes to applying for a visa, the first thing the consular officer asks is, "What are you going to do in the U.S.?""When you enter the country, you may also be asked this sentence when you enter the country. If you are traveling to the U.S. for medical treatment on a tourist visa, you may be involved in visa fraud if you are discovered by a consular officer or inbound person**, with consequences ranging from deportation, restriction of entry, fines, and even detention. SoWhen applying for a visa, you must remember: seek truth from facts, and have one thing to say. When you go to the U.S. for medical treatment, you say that you go to the U.S. for medical treatment, not for other reasons such as travel, official business, visiting relatives and friends, etc. Do not use any reason to deceive the visa officer and the immigration**. 
*: What we can really do is to prepare complete and sufficient visa application materials before the visa. This information is mainly used to prove the following three points:
1.Proof that the purpose of your visit to the U.S. is indeed to see a doctor.
2.Proof that you have sufficient financial resources to cover the costs you will incur for your visit in the United States.
3.Proof that you will return to your home country after you have completed your medical treatment in the U.S. and will not be stranded in the U.S. or become an illegal immigrant. Again:Don't believe any agency telling you that you can cheat the visa officer in one way or another;Don't believe anyone who tells you that they have one way or another relationship with the embassy or visa officer, and you only need to pay a certain fee to help you get the ......None of this is possible and completely unnecessary!In addition, in the case of a medical visa, the patient can apply for a visa extension when the length of stay is close to the upper limit and the patient needs to remain in the country**. If you apply for a tourist visa, you cannot apply for an extension on the grounds of "illness", and the fact that there is visa fraud will be exposed.
Step 5:Book flights and overseas accommodationOnce you have successfully obtained your medical visa, the next step is to book your flight tickets and accommodation overseas. Not long ago, Hainan Airlines resumed direct flights from Beijing to Boston in the United States, making it more convenient to go abroad to see a doctor. However, not all flights that were suspended after the pandemic have resumed, so you can search for information about international flights of each airline and plan your route in advance. If it is a customer of the Shengnuo family, weA dedicated customer service team is available to help patients and their families plan their entire trip abroad, from obtaining medical visas to flights and accommodation overseas. It is recommended that patients live in a place that is relatively close to overseas ** hospitals and has convenient transportation. Patients referred by the Shengnuo family can also choose to live in the "Shengnuo Home" patient apartment. For example, the "Shengnuo Home" patient apartment in Houston is located in Houston Medical City, close to MD Anderson Cancer Center and Hermann Park, which is convenient to go to the hospital and the surrounding environment is also very beautiful. There are not only fully furnished apartment accommodations, but also other patients to communicate with, a local full-time service team of Shengnuo, and customer service cars. 
Houston "Shengnuo House" Patient Service Shuttle.
Step 6:Get aroundThis step is relatively simple, as long as you arrive in the foreign city where the hospital is located before the first consultation date. If the patient has a history of going abroad, it is generally easier. However, if the patient has not been abroad, does not speak a foreign language, and does not have relatives or friends overseas, it will be more troublesome. Moreover, the traffic Xi in the United States is not exactly the same as in China, and the culture is quite different, and it may be difficult to move if you cannot adapt to it. If it is a customer of Shengnuo, these are not problems. Not only is there a special person to give pre-departure guidance before traveling, but there is also a special English translator in China who can accompany the trip to help patients and accompanying family members go through the procedures of boarding, baggage check-in, entry and exit during the journey. After arriving abroad, there are local service staff waiting early to pick up the patient at the airport, directly to the reserved accommodation location, and settle in. Relying on 13 years of integrated global medical resources and service experience, Sinomax will also prepare a series of plans for patients to deal with some potential risks. For example, the Shengnuo family will prepare "SOS" emergency cards for patients who go abroad to see a doctor, and they can ask passers-by for help in the event of an accident anywhere overseasPassers-by can also use the information on the "SOS" card to help patients contact hospitals, ambulances, etc. Another example is a patient who had a seizure just before the plane landed, and the crew contacted the ambulance. After receiving the information of the family, the pick-up staff of Shengnuo cooperated with the patient to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment, and quickly made an appointment and transferred to the emergency department of a large hospital to ensure the safety of the patient as much as possible. 
Of course, whether it is medical treatment or transportation, there is a certain degree of uncertainty, and the Shengnuo family cannot foresee and eliminate all the risks of going abroad to see a doctor, so they can only prepare more plans according to the patient's condition, so as to make the patient's travel as smooth and smooth as possible, and strive for better results.
Step 7:Go to the hospital to receive **Once you arrive in the city where the hospital is located and settle down, you can wait until the day of your first visit to go to the hospital. At this time, there are several difficulties for self-service patients:
What should I do if I don't understand the language?
What should I do if I can't find a place?
What is the process of seeking medical treatment in a foreign hospital?
What questions should I ask my doctor?
*: Let's talk about the language first. Large hospitals in the United States that accept a large number of international patients may have Chinese interpreters, and the International Department will directly arrange for patients in need. However, these interpreters lack understanding of the patient's condition, and the level of Chinese is uneven, some patients can accept it, and some patients may not accept it. If it is a customer of the Shengnuo family, they will generally choose to be accompanied by a local medical interpreter of the Shengnuo familyNot only can you communicate with doctors more smoothly, but you can also provide some suggestions to patients based on your professional medical background and previous service experience, including how to communicate with doctors, what questions to ask, how to interpret examination reports, etc. Based on the understanding of foreign hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, the overseas staff of Shengnuo can sometimes help patients apply for some free medicines. However, there are strict requirements for patients who apply for free medicines, and not all patients who go abroad for medical treatment can apply for it, and patients need to manage their expectations before going abroad for medical treatment. Whether it is the interpreter arranged by the hospital or the medical interpreter of the Shengnuo family, they are very familiar with the hospital, so there is no need to worry about points 2 and 3. As mentioned above, the medical translators of the Shengnuo family (including domestic medical consultants) can understand the patient's medical records in advance, help the patient sort out the medical problems, interpret the examination report and the plan given by the doctor, etc. It can be difficult for a hospital interpreter to do so. In addition, if the patient** does not go well (after all, the United States cannot cure all diseases), for the vast majority of DIY patients, they may have no choice but to return home. But,If it is a Shengnuo customer, the patient's arrival at the American hospital is only the beginning of medical treatment. The top 10 hospitals in the United States in terms of cancer, cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, and orthopedics are basically an official contracted cooperative hospital. Nearly half of the tens of thousands of cancer-related clinical trials around the world are conducted in these authoritative U.S. hospitals. There is no way for one hospital, and the Shengnuo family can also contact the second and third ...... immediatelyExhaust all possibilities. 
As of February 25, 2022, there were 87,748 cancer-related clinical trials worldwide, of which 40,744 were in the United States.
Step 8:**Follow-up after returning homeRegardless of the outcome, as long as the patient is still there, it is necessary to have regular check-ups and then contact a foreign doctor for follow-up. Many patients may not realize the importance of follow-up, and they lose contact with foreign hospitals and doctors after returning home. But at the Shengnuo family, that couldn't have happened. We willEstablish a personal medical profile for the patient, keep in touch with the patient after they return home, remind and help them follow up when needed. Of course, the services of the Sinomax family also include helping patients sort out follow-up problems, making appointments for follow-up visits, arranging follow-up interpreters, etc. Regular examination and high-quality follow-up can not only detect problems in time and avoid the rapid progression of patients to advanced stages, but also continue the previous concept and path, and re-formulate a suitable plan for patients. If all goes well, it's certainly better if there aren't any ** signs.
*: If you complete the above eight steps, you will be considered to have completed a trip abroad to see a doctor. If there is no way for American hospitals, maybe human beings will be like this, at least without regrets.