Frequently Asked Questions

Neither, exactly. XinoVell is an independent health journey coordination platform. We help you connect with appropriate medical and health resources, and we handle the arrangements around that — appointments, language, itinerary and follow-up.

All medical assessment, diagnosis and treatment is provided independently by licensed institutions and qualified practitioners.

No. Every diagnosis, test recommendation and treatment plan is decided by your treating doctor in China, based on your actual condition.

Our job is to help you reach the right doctor and make sure the process around that runs smoothly — not to substitute for clinical judgement.

We work with international patients and overseas residents travelling to China for screening, wellness, health management or medical care. Whether we can support a particular request depends on where you are based, where you are going and what you need.

Yes. We offer complete packages, but individual services can be arranged on their own.

Three reasons come up repeatedly: waiting times, cost and access to specialist experience.

Elective procedures that sit on a waiting list for months at home can often be assessed and scheduled within weeks. Self-funded costs are substantially lower. And because of the scale of the population, leading specialist teams handle case volumes most Western departments never approach — which matters most for complicated presentations.

It is not the right answer for everyone. It depends on your condition, your timeframe and what your own doctors advise.

Public hospitals in China are formally graded by the national health authority. The top tier — Class 3A — covers the large teaching and referral hospitals in major cities, assessed on facilities, staffing, departmental range and research output. It is a regulatory classification, not a marketing claim.

One caveat: the grade describes the institution, not the department. A hospital can be outstanding in cardiology and unremarkable in orthopaedics. Which department and which doctor matters more than the name above the door.

We assess accreditation and departmental strength, actual experience with international patients, language capability, and whether appointments can realistically be arranged in your timeframe. The final choice should always be made alongside appropriate medical advice.

Yes. Tell us who or where you have in mind and we will look into availability and whether the arrangement is practical. We cannot guarantee a specific doctor — clinic times and scheduling are the hospital's to decide — but we will tell you realistically what the options look like.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a formal part of China's healthcare system, with its own hospitals, licensed practitioners and training pathways. Common services include herbal medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, moxibustion and rehabilitation work.

Visitors most often consult TCM practitioners for sleep problems, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, digestive complaints and post-treatment recovery. Whether it suits your situation should be assessed by a qualified practitioner.

It is frequently used alongside conventional treatment rather than instead of it — one of the genuinely distinctive things about receiving care in China.

Some are. China has approved certain cell therapies, and operates facilities including proton and heavy-ion treatment centres, robotic surgical systems and high-field imaging.

Whether any of this is relevant to your situation is a clinical question, not one we can answer. Eligibility depends on your diagnosis, your treatment history and an assessment by the treating institution.

If you have seen a specific treatment mentioned and want to know whether it applies to you, the most useful first step is a second opinion — have your records reviewed by a relevant specialist who can tell you directly whether it is worth pursuing.

It depends on your passport. Visa-free entry currently applies to citizens of a substantial number of countries — including Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe — typically for stays of up to 30 days.

Policies change. Confirm the current position with the National Immigration Administration or your nearest Chinese embassy before booking. If you do need a visa, we can prepare appointment confirmations and supporting documents.

Two to four weeks is a reasonable minimum. More complex cases benefit from longer. Urgent situations are handled case by case.

For a screening trip, the main tests take one or two testing days, the report usually follows two to five days later, and a doctor then goes through it with you — allow about a week. Anything involving a procedure, recovery and a follow-up review needs considerably longer.

Build some slack into the schedule — results occasionally prompt an additional test. And ask the treating doctor about flying: some procedures require a waiting period before air travel.

Usually, and it is often a good idea. Tell us in advance who is coming and what they will need. Hospital visiting and ward policies vary, so in-patient arrangements are subject to the institution's rules.

Diagnostic reports, laboratory results, imaging, previous treatment records and a current medication list. If you do not have everything, start anyway — we will tell you what else is needed.

Please do not. Our general enquiry system is not set up to receive or store full medical records, and ordinary email is not an appropriate channel for them.

Where a service requires clinical documentation, we will give you a secure upload link to a dedicated clinical platform, governed by that platform's privacy policy and applicable law.

Before committing to a trip, you can have your existing records reviewed by a relevant specialist in China and receive an independent written opinion. It happens entirely online — no travel, and it does not disrupt your current treatment.

Most usefully, it tells you whether the trip is worth making at all. If the reviewing doctor concludes that travelling would not meaningfully change your options, we will tell you that.

The written opinion is delivered within five working days of complete records being submitted. The initial consultation is free; the opinion itself is quoted based on complexity and the level of specialist required, and nothing is charged until you agree.

Your diagnostic report, laboratory results, imaging (CT, MRI, X-ray), relevant outpatient or inpatient records and a current medication list. Records are submitted through a secure clinical platform, not by email.

Yes — a video consultation with the reviewing specialist can be arranged alongside the written report, with a medical interpreter present.

No. It is an additional perspective, intended to be taken back to your own doctor and discussed. The opinion is issued independently by a licensed specialist; we handle records, translation and coordination, and take no part in the clinical judgement.

Costs fall into three categories. It is worth knowing from the outset which of them we handle and which we do not:

• Medical charges — paid directly to the hospital, which issues your receipt. We never handle this money and take no margin on it.
• Journey planning fee — from USD $300, depending on how complex the trip is. Quoted before you commit to anything.
• Trip costs — accommodation, ground transport and vehicles, sightseeing, someone accompanying you to appointments, and our coordination throughout. Arranged and billed as a single package.

International flights are yours to decide on — book them yourself, or ask us to arrange them along with everything else. Before anything begins, we set out the known costs and who each payment goes to.

That depends entirely on the procedure, so a blanket percentage would tell you very little. Two examples give a better sense of it.

Dental sits outside public healthcare almost everywhere, which means wherever you live, you are almost certainly paying for it yourself. A single implant runs roughly USD 800–1,600 in China; the same work is commonly AUD 4,000–6,500 in Australia and USD 3,000–5,000 in the United States. On larger cases — several implants, or complex restorative work — the gap widens, and that is the point at which the trip starts paying for itself.

Comprehensive screening is also self-funded in most places. In China a full workup typically runs USD 550–1,200, with the main tests completed within one or two testing days and the report usually issued two to five days later, after which a doctor goes through it with you.

What your own case costs depends on the combination of procedures, the tier of institution and the city. We give you a firm quotation after the free consultation, and nothing is charged until you accept it.

No. You pay the hospital directly and the hospital issues your receipt.

We are paid for planning and running the trip, not from a margin on your medical bill. That distinction is deliberate — it means we have nothing to gain by pointing you towards a more expensive hospital or a bigger procedure than your situation calls for.

Where we do handle money — the planning fee and the trip package — you get an itemised quotation first, and nothing is charged until you accept it.

Yes, and published. Licensed institutions maintain set charges for each procedure, test and consumable. You are billed item by item for what was actually done, and prices are not adjusted according to nationality or how you were referred.

Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept foreign-issued cards, most major hospitals take bank cards, some international departments accept overseas cards directly, and cash still works. Accepted methods vary, so we will tell you before you travel what to have ready.

Contact us as soon as you know and we will try to reschedule rather than cancel. Any refund depends on costs already incurred and the policies of the hospital and other third parties. Cancellation terms and refund timelines are set out before you pay, not after.

It may. Coverage, pre-authorisation and direct billing all depend on your policy, your insurer, the hospital and the treatment. Confirm with your insurer before finalising arrangements — do not assume direct settlement is available.

• Whether treatment in China is covered at all
• Whether your chosen hospital qualifies
• Whether pre-authorisation is required
• Whether documents must be issued in English
• Whether direct billing is possible
• Exactly which documents a claim requires

There are three kinds of document, and they are not interchangeable.

A hospital original, an English-language document issued by the hospital, and a separately prepared translation are three different things.

Some insurers accept a certified translation; others require documents issued by the hospital itself. Ask your insurer which they need before you leave China — a hospital-issued document is straightforward to obtain while you are there and awkward once you are home.

Yes. We can assemble the documentation a claim requires and arrange translations. The claim decision itself rests with your insurer; what we can ensure is that your paperwork is complete and correctly formatted.

No — but it needs planning rather than improvising. Some hospitals have international departments with English-speaking staff, though coverage varies. What actually solves it is a medical interpreter present with you.

Because a phone cannot tell when a question has been misheard. An interpreter who understands clinical vocabulary will notice an incomplete answer, catch a misunderstanding about dosage, and know when something needs restating. Imaging descriptions and history-taking leave real room for error.

Apps are a reasonable backup for everyday situations. They are not adequate for a conversation about your treatment.

• Interpretation during consultations, examinations and procedures
• Translation of your existing records before you travel
• A written summary of what the doctor said
• Language support through admission and discharge

Clinical opinions come from the doctor. We remove the friction caused by language and process.

You will have direct contact details for your advisor from the day your service begins — not a general enquiries line. If something changes mid-trip, the person you reach already knows your whole arrangement.

They are large, departments are subdivided more finely than you may be used to, and much of the process runs through smartphone apps that assume a Chinese phone number and local ID.

The usual sticking points: booking online in advance, identity verification, results and payment sitting in separate mini-programmes, choosing the correct department, and the order in which steps must be completed. None of it is difficult once someone shows you.

Yes, and most people should. We build the schedule around appointments, recovery requirements and the pace you want — leaving room for travel, family, or simply not doing very much.

Often, but it depends on the hospital, the ward and the type of admission. Tell us in advance if this matters to you and we will confirm what is possible.

China's emergency number is 120, staffed around the clock. In major cities, ambulances typically arrive within five to fifteen minutes.

Operators generally speak Chinese. Some cities, Beijing among them, have multilingual call handling, but do not assume English will be available wherever you happen to be. Keep your accommodation and hospital addresses saved in Chinese characters on your phone, and keep your advisor's number somewhere you can reach quickly — you will have it from the day your service begins.

12308 is China's consular assistance hotline for foreign nationals and does handle English. It is a useful backup, but not a substitute for 120 in a medical emergency.

Generally yes, for personal use. Keep everything in its original labelled packaging and carry your prescription or a letter from your doctor. Quantity limits follow the customs rules in force at the time. Do not stop, switch or adjust any medication on your own initiative.

Prescription medicines require assessment and a prescription from a licensed physician at a Chinese healthcare institution. Buy from a hospital pharmacy or another properly licensed pharmacy.

Sometimes — but this is not simply a matter of posting a parcel. Whether something can be shipped, which categories are permitted and in what quantity depend on the destination country's law, the drug classification and prescription requirements.

Where it is permissible, the relevant licensed parties can assist with physician review, verification, compliant dispatch and customs documentation guidance. Safety and compliance come before convenience.

Yes. Discharge summaries, results and imaging reports are prepared using standard clinical terminology and translated by people with medical backgrounds. Bring the originals to your next appointment — most doctors would rather see those than a summary.

In many cases, yes. Depending on the hospital's resources and the services you have chosen, we can coordinate remote follow-up with your treating doctor, translate relevant documents and — with your authorisation — help transfer records to your physician at home.

Blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid conditions and metabolic problems are rarely resolved in a single appointment. What matters is not any one set of results, but whether anyone is connecting them to the last set.

Ongoing management can include review reminders, follow-up at appropriate intervals, tracking how markers move over time, and arranging reviews ahead of your next visit.

Our general enquiry system is not used to receive or store full medical records. Where a service requires clinical documentation, you submit it through a dedicated clinical platform, governed by that platform's privacy policy and applicable law. Enquiry and itinerary information collected by XinoVell is handled under our own privacy policy.

Major Chinese cities are generally safe for visitors, including at night, and top-tier hospital standards are held to national regulatory requirements.

The practical risks are more mundane than dramatic: mismatched expectations about what is achievable in the time available, misunderstanding during consultations, and documentation that turns out not to meet an insurer's requirements. All three are avoidable with preparation — which is most of what we do.