Assurance, Peace of Mind and More: An Expert Second Opinion for Only $399
Dear Seeker of a Good Second Opinion,
If you are feeling overwhelmed by a serious medical diagnosis, and think an expert second opinion is not an option, we’re here to help. Whatever your condition, getting an affordable but trustworthy second opinion will give you the confidence to take next steps with clarity, and a measure of peace of mind.
We’re dedicated to offering a virtual second opinion that gives you the information you need to make those decisions, to have that confidence, and give you that peace of mind.
An affordable, easy solution for reliable second opinions.
Now it’s possible to access a vast network of rated and reviewed specialists in all medical conditions. These specialists are physicians and surgeons who make themselves available online to help you, without the long wait times and hefty fees you’d expect. And because it’s a virtual consultation, you don’t even have to leave home.
Insurance Gaps: The Barrier to Expert Second Opinions
Maybe you’re one of the 26 million Americans without health insurance coverage. Or you could be one of the 43% of American adults* who are underinsured, with high costs for a second opinion.
Despite paying hefty premiums, your out-of-pocket costs can easily exceed $10,000, and much more for out-of-network reviews.
Just one example of how steep the cost of a self-paid second opinion can be.
It’s a frustrating reality—one that adds financial strain to an already stressful situation.
Don’t let fear and uncertainty dictate your journey. Take control of your situation with confidence. Reach out to us today, and get an expert second opinion without having to leave home or break the bank.
Our Affordable Advantage Is Yours: An Expert Second Opinion from Chinese Physicians
Before you make an assumption, rest assured: the world’s second largest economy, with the largest population, has a vast number of experienced and reliable medical specialists.
The top tier doctors often have much more experience than their peers in the West, due to having a much larger number of patients. Read my story below before you make up your mind.
True, China’s health care system has a way to go until it catches up with America’s overall. But that big picture isn’t your concern, or ours. Your peace of mind is.
So you should know another truth. There are 2,749* tertiary hospitals in China. Tertiary means they are large research hospitals that provide advanced medical care, cutting-edge technology, and highly specialized services.
And there are 1504* tertiary A hospitals in China, the most advanced and prestigious hospitals in China’s vast healthcare system.
So consider: with over 4 million doctors in China, the best 1% alone would leave over 40, 000 experienced and highly qualified doctors to consult with.
Whatever you’re thinking right now about China and healthcare, know this last thing also:
The biggest healthcare challenge for such a huge population is access. Almost all the top 100 hospitals are in Shanghai or Beijing, and the tertiaries are almost all in the east, in China’s 20 biggest cities.
In response, China has recently built up a huge network of virtual consultation services.
What does China's massive online doctor network mean for you?
We take the guesswork out of finding the best physician to give you your second opinion. The best platforms have scrupulous review and rating systems, and those are the only ones we use.
We’ll send you a choice of three specialists for your condition, the tertiary hospital they work at, their rating and sample reviews, all in English, to choose from, with our suggestion based on how quickly they can help you.
A virtual second opinion means ease; our solution adds affordability.
Take advantage of how we remove the barriers between you and a top specialist offering a second opinion in another language.
Step 1: Submit Your Medical Reports
We’ll send you a secure upload link for essential information your specialist will need to review such as:
- Your pathology report
- Your clinical notes
- Your image reports
- Relevant images
PRIVACY ASSURED!
Rest assured, we prioritize the security and confidentiality of your information.
We understand the sensitivity of medical data, which is why we offer the option to send your information with personal identification deleted, ensuring your peace of mind.
You can even use a throw-away email if you prefer—an added layer of privacy for your comfort.
Step 2: Translation and Specialist Selection
Once we receive your information, our translation team which specializes in medical language will meticulously translate it into Mandarin.
From there, we’ll handpick a highly rated specialist in your specific condition from our extensive network.
We use the physician’s proficiency in English as one of the criteria. However, our top criteria are their expertise, ratings, and reviews. Getting you the best second opinion is our first priority.
Step 3: Online Consultation
We’ll send you a choice of three specialists, their online rating, the hospitals they work at, and sample reviews, as well as our recommended choice.
Then we’ll coordinate with the chosen specialist to schedule an online consultation. We use voice-only consultations, although video is usually an option. Your second opinion is too valuable to be subject to the chance of a video meeting freezing or dropping audio. We can dial you in, but be aware that China is 12 hours ahead of America’s east coast, 13 hours during daylight savings time. Booking a great doctor to provide a second opinion, but only between 8 and 10pm China time so you can attend, will definitely slow the process and limit options.
We usually record the call for your assurance, but remember the specialist will be speaking Mandarin 19 times out of 20.
Step 4: Receive Your Detailed Report
Following the consultation, we’ll promptly translate the physician’s opinion into English and compile a detailed report for your review. This document will provide the specialist physician’s insights into your condition, empowering you to make informed decisions about your health with confidence.
My China medical journey started with an unexpected second opinion
Allow me to dispense with the royal “We” which includes my translators and other team members. I started this service because I myself have received a life-changing second opinion from expert Chinese doctors.
Not only that, they performed a surgery that would have cost me over six figures back in America, and left me with a metal valve in my heart, dependent on blood thinners and at greater risk for a stroke with each passing day.
I had broken my ankle, and gone to a Los Angeles hospital without insurance to get it set. The misfortune compounded when the doctors told me I had what was beyond a heart murmur.
In fact, it was a completely prolapsed mitral valve. This explained why I had been getting so tired so quickly recently. They said that sooner than later I would have to get it replaced with a metal valve, since a pig valve would need replacing after 8 years or so.
The broken ankle had left me broke, so a second opinion was not on my mind. I got an insurance plan, but my copay for the valve replacement would have been over $100,000. At a mid-tier hospital, to boot.
I managed as best I could, but I was experiencing more symptoms of a rapidly enlarging heart – tiring easily, having to limit my work and play due to chest pains. I spent a few years like this, the surgery a nagging inevitability in my mind, costing me sleep and lowering my quality of life.
In the meantime, I met the love of my life and moved to her hometown of Beijing. My first winter there – after years of LA weather – was the last straw for my camel-hump-sized heart. I was feeling particularly unwell on a frigid day, and we went to a restaurant to cheer me up.
I’ll never forget my shock as my left arm started going numb, and I felt my body begin shutting down. My wife bundled me into a cab and told the driver to take us to the nearest hospital.
That hospital was Fu Wai, one of the best heart hospitals in China.
After I staggered in and collapsed on the lobby floor, the Fu Wai staff quickly stabilized me. When I was in a condition to speak again, a cardiologist who had reviewed my workup told me in fluent English that he couldn’t in good conscience let me leave the hospital, and that my valve would have to be fixed right away.
“It’s unfixable,” I croaked. “The American doctors said it has to be replaced.”
The cardiologist smiled with a confidence that belied his youthful appearance. “Oh, we can fix it,” he replied. “We do several of these surgeries almost every day. We’ve had many cases like yours.”
I remembered that the American hospitals I had a choice of through my Blue Cross Blue Shield only did a few per month. I used to joke darkly about how my generic, insurance-provided surgeon’s hands would be trembling from fear of a lawsuit.
My wife checked me into a private room at Fu Wai, where I got excellent pre- and post-surgery care.
As for the surgery itself, after I went under, they hooked me up to a machine to circulate my blood, cut open my rib cage at the sternum, then my heart, and put a tiny staple into my blown valve to straighten it out again.
It was two weeks or so until I was strong enough to go home. I was too busy having visions from my morphine drip to eat. One of the surgeons, Dr. Tang, guessed that I didn’t like the hospital food, and brought in some of the beef and potato stew she had made with her family the night before.
Incredible, right? But I remember that whenever I see shock news items about China healthcare, and still send her Christmas cards.
My total bill for my time in the hospital – a little over $4000. Granted this was in the mid-2000s.
And not having a metal valve in my heart – no blood thinners, or associated risk of stroke? Priceless.
My Inspiration to begin this service - Larry's story.
I’ve known Larry since I was a kid. We fell out of touch, but social media brought us back together as middle-aged men, despite the fact that I now lived in China, he in Florida.
He had sent me a vague Whatsapp message about being “in bad shape”, so I called to find out what was going on.
It turned out he had just gotten diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 3,000 American men are diagnosed with it a year. But that was no comfort to Larry. A tough-as-nails construction worker and outdoorsman, he rued the prospect of being on the site or the beach without a shirt and having to explain his missing tissue and scar.
Larry had a lump, swelling, an inverted nipple. What he didn’t have was the option for a second opinion without paying over $10,000 himself.
He already knew my story, so wasn’t too surprised, or reluctant, when I offered to get him an online diagnosis from a Chinese doctor. He sent me his mammogram and other medical docs, which I got translated with pros who are now part of the team.
Then I scheduled a virtual consultation with an oncologist in residence at Fudan University’s Zhongshan hospital, one Dr. Zhengxi Tian. He had close to 20 years’ experience in oncology, and a 4.9 out of 5 online rating.
He determined that my friend Larry actually had fat necrosis. That’s dead fat, which can sometimes follow an injury. I informed Larry and sure enough, he had injured his chest doing construction more than a year before, but had forgotten about it once the bruising had subsided.
Best of all, Dr. Xie advised that Larry didn’t need any surgery, and that the dead fat would break down after three or four months. Larry followed his advice, and as advised, is free of his lump, and the cost and stress that breast cancer surgery would have meant.
Much more than a great virtual second opinion: We'll be your guide on your China medical journey.
Of course, I ‘m not telling you that your virtual consultation is likely to result in a negative of your original diagnosis. But Larry’s case led me to do some digging, and it turns out one in seven breast cancer cases are over-diagnosed*.
Even more sobering was finding out that an estimated 795,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled by diagnostic error each year*.
I remembered my life-changing experience at Fu Wai hospital, and how many of my fellow Americans, without insurance or under-insured for second opinions, could benefit from a virtual consultation with a Chinese specialist.
And that’s why I have the privilege of addressing you.
It’s also why your $399 doesn’t just cover a second opinion.
Now, this is certainly not for everyone, but if you want to get options and then decide to have surgery in China, I will be honored to be your online guide.
I can well understand any hesitation on your part. But seeing some of these hospitals’ pictures, and websites, often in English, will start impressing you with the fact that – yes, China has top tier medical treatment.
And yes, as you may well guess, that treatment is usually a fraction of the price it would cost in the United States.
Sure, you may decide that Mexico or Turkey is the place for you, but a quick analogy:
There‘s a reason China’s BYD is the world’s top seller of electric vehicles. They make an EV as good as Tesla’s, with a broader range to choose from, more efficiently, and at a much lower price.
And that price is made possible by a huge pool of talented people who work for less. Doctors in China don’t make nearly as much as western ones. Furthermore, politics aside, the government keeps a tight rein on insurance and health care industry inflation and profiteering.
I could go on about how China is leading the world in numbers of new scientists and engineers, the amount of research, but I understand the mental barriers, and empathize.
And I know rattling off statistics won’t really help you make your decision.
BUT, should you want your report on which hospitals we recommend and the estimated cost, we’ll provide that and more (I’m back to the royal “we”, the team):
- A guide on traveling to China with a medical condition
- Advice on streamlining your visa, flight, and accommodations
- An English-fluent helper you can hire to be your assistant, from airport pickup to hospital discharge, if you so wish. Such a helper is crucial for:
- Hospital registration & admission
- Daily communications with staffers
- Procurement of special items you may wish during your hospital stay
- Billing
Then again, the top 100 hospitals in China have more and more English-capable staff and physicians. The elements of your journey can be flexible, once you’re informed.
Either way, you’ll find that the total cost is far less than comparable care at a US hospital, often with more experienced surgeons, on a quicker timeline.
I believe that translating your records, working with you in booking a top specialist for a second opinion, translating that opinion into a report, then being your guide should you choose a China medical journey, is excellent value for $399, all included.
If you agree, click below to get started.