Short Answer
A radiology second opinion in China through Jade Crane Health costs $740 (¥5,000) and is sold as one bundle: specialist matching, a virtual consult, a written assessment, and a treatment plan. Once the reviewing specialist has your study, the written assessment comes back in 1 working day. The reviewer is a chief surgeon in the relevant specialty at one of China's top-20 hospitals, western-trained and English-speaking. Everything runs remotely — you upload a DICOM export, you do not travel. There is no cheaper standalone imaging read. If you only want an interpretation of the pictures, this is not that product.
What $740 Buys — and What It Does Not
The single most common reason this page loses a reader is a price comparison against the wrong thing. Providers who sell a bare imaging interpretation are selling one of the four elements below. Jade Crane Health does not offer that element on its own, so the honest comparison is between two different products, not two prices for the same one.
| Element | Included in the $740 (¥5,000) bundle | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist matching | Yes | Your study goes to a chief surgeon in the corresponding specialty — a spine question and a brain question do not go to the same person |
| Virtual consult | Yes | A live video conversation with that clinician, where you give history and ask questions |
| Written assessment | Yes — 1 working day once the specialist has the study | An English written document you can take to your doctor at home |
| Treatment plan | Yes | What the specialist would do next, stated explicitly, rather than an interpretation that stops at the finding |
| Standalone imaging read, no consult | No — not sold | If a bare read is all you want, buy it elsewhere; we would rather say so than sell you the bundle by omission |
| Treatment, surgery or admission in China | No | Priced separately if you decide to travel; the assessment is a decision input, not a booking |
On the price itself. $740 is converted from ¥5,000 at a pinned, dated rate of ¥6.75 = $1 (15 August 2026); if the rate moves materially the USD figure is re-derived from the RMB. It is the hospital's own listing price — Jade Crane Health does not add a markup to it, and you pay the hospital directly. That is why the figure does not fall when you ask; there is no margin in it to give back.
Turnaround: What "1 Working Day" Actually Covers
Conclusion first: 1 working day is the upload-to-written-report clock, and it starts when the reviewing specialist has your study — not when you press send. Two steps sit in front of it and neither has a published duration, because both genuinely vary by case and we would rather leave a number out than invent one.
| Step | Published duration | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Study received and checked for readability | Not published | Whether you sent a full DICOM export or flattened images — see below; an unreadable study restarts this step |
| 2. Matched to a subspecialist | Not published | Specialty and how specific the clinical question is |
| 3. Written assessment produced | 1 working day | This is the ruled figure. It is the part of the process we control |
| 4. Virtual consult | Not published | Two calendars and a time-zone gap; China Standard Time is UTC+8 year-round, with no daylight saving |
If you are planning around a decision date, plan around step 3 being fast and steps 2 and 4 being the scheduling variables. Ask for a target date for the consult at the point of enquiry rather than assuming the whole bundle lands in a day.
Who Reads Your Scan
The reviewer is a chief surgeon in the relevant specialty at one of China's top-20 hospitals, western-trained and fluent in English. That choice is deliberate and it is the reason the bundle exists in the shape it does: a reporting radiologist describes what is on the images, while a treating chief surgeon is the person who can say what they would do about it. The deliverable includes a treatment plan, so the reviewer has to be someone who makes treatment decisions.
- Subspecialty match, not general radiology. The study is routed by body area and clinical question.
- Seniority. Chief-surgeon level, which is why the price sits where it does rather than at bare-read rates.
- English, directly. The consult is conducted in English rather than through an interpreter relaying clinical detail.
- No named individual or hospital on this page. Naming a specific reviewer or partner institution publicly is a commercial decision Jade Crane Health has not made; the match is confirmed to you before the consult.
What To Upload — and What Makes a Study Unreviewable
Most rejected studies are rejected for one reason: the images were sent as pictures rather than as data. How to Send Imaging Files to Hospitals in China covers the transfer mechanics — folders, labelling, portals. This section covers something narrower: whether what arrives is good enough to review.
Send
- The original DICOM export of the study — the full series, not selected key images. This is the file set your imaging centre burns to disc or provides for download.
- The formal written report that accompanied the scan, in whatever language it was issued.
- A short clinical summary — symptoms, dates, working diagnosis, and the specific question you want answered.
- Pathology, biopsy or lab results if any exist and bear on the question.
- Prior studies of the same body area, if you have them. Optional, and often the single most useful thing you can add: change over time settles disputes that a single time point cannot.
What makes a study unreviewable
- Screenshots, JPEGs or phone photos of a screen. One flattened view at one window setting. The reviewer cannot re-window to separate bone from soft tissue, cannot scroll the series, and cannot verify acquisition settings.
- A partial series. Key images chosen by someone else pre-empt the review — the finding you want a second view on may be on a slice that was not selected.
- Contrast phases missing. If the report references pre- and post-contrast appearances, both need to be present.
- Identifiers that do not match. Name and date of birth on the study must match the report, or the reviewer cannot confirm the two describe the same patient.
- Report without images, or images without report. Each answers a question the other cannot.
Everything above is checked before the study reaches the specialist. If something is missing you are told what to re-send rather than being given a hedged read of an inadequate study.
When a Second Opinion Is Worth Buying — and When It Is Not
| Situation | Worth a second opinion? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Surgery has been proposed and you want to test whether it is necessary | Strong case | This is the decision the $740 treatment-plan element is built for |
| An MRI or CT finding is described as indeterminate or equivocal | Strong case | Exactly where a subspecialist read and prior-study comparison change the answer |
| Cancer staging before committing to a treatment pathway | Strong case | Staging drives the whole plan; an error propagates through every later decision |
| You are weighing whether to travel to China for treatment at all | Strong case | Cheaper than a trip, and it happens before you book one |
| You want a cheap confirmation of a clear, uncontested finding | Probably not | You would be paying $740 for reassurance the bundle is over-specified to provide |
| Acute or emergency symptoms | No | A remote review over 1 working day is the wrong instrument — seek care where you are |
If the Two Reports Disagree
They sometimes will, and that is the outcome you paid to be able to see. Disagreement between two competent readers is usually about a specific structure, phase or measurement rather than about the whole study, so the useful question in the virtual consult is narrow: what did you see differently, and what would resolve it? The answer is frequently a further study, a repeat at an interval, or a comparison against prior imaging you have not sent yet.
Take both documents to your treating doctor at home. A second opinion is an input to your care. It is not a referral, not an authorisation, and it does not replace the clinician who can examine you.
How To Ask For One
Jade Crane Health takes enquiries through the waitlist form on the home page. Two things make the request land on the right desk immediately, and they matter because the form serves the whole business rather than this one service:
- Under Primary interest, choose the closest available option — the list does not yet carry a diagnostic or second-opinion category.
- In the message box, write "radiology second opinion" plus the body area, the modality (MRI, CT, PET-CT, ultrasound, X-ray) and the scan date. That one line is what routes it correctly.
You do not need to upload anything at that stage. File handover is arranged after the first reply.
Related Jade Crane Guides
- Medical Tourism in China: the full guide
- How to Send Imaging Files to Hospitals in China — the transfer mechanics
- Second Opinion Before Medical Tourism in China — the pre-travel decision framing
- Cardiology Second Opinion in China — the same process for cardiac cases
- Oncology Records for a Second Opinion in China — assembling a cancer records pack
- CT Scan Report Translation in China
- MRI Scan Cost in China
- PET CT Scan China Cost
FAQ
How much does a radiology second opinion in China cost?
Jade Crane Health's radiology second opinion is $740, converted from ¥5,000 at the pinned rate of ¥6.75 = $1 dated 15 August 2026. That single figure covers the full assessment bundle: specialist matching, a virtual consult, a written assessment, and a treatment plan. It is the hospital's own listing price — Jade Crane Health does not add a markup, and you pay the hospital directly. There is no cheaper tier that buys only part of the bundle.
How long does the written assessment take?
The written assessment is turned around in 1 working day once the reviewing specialist has your study in hand. That clock covers upload to written report only. It excludes the 2 steps in front of it — matching you to the right subspecialist, and scheduling the virtual consult — which vary by specialty and by 2 calendars across a time-zone gap; China Standard Time is UTC+8 year-round. Jade Crane Health publishes no end-to-end figure rather than inventing one.
Can I buy just a written report on my scan, without the consult?
No. There is no standalone remote imaging read on offer. All four elements — specialist matching, virtual consult, written assessment, treatment plan — are sold together for $740 (¥5,000). If you have been quoted a lower figure elsewhere for a bare read, that is a different product: an imaging interpretation without a clinician who takes your history, answers questions live, or commits to a plan you can act on.
I have problems in more than one area — is that one assessment or several?
One assessment, one specialist, one fixed price of $740 (¥5,000). You choose the specialist, so pick the one whose field covers the problem that matters most to you — brain, spine, joints — and they review everything you send together, addressing adjacent areas such as ENT or chest within the same assessment where they can. Where something falls outside their competence they will say so and explain why. If a further specialist's own consultation is needed, Jade Crane Health can help schedule it separately; it is not folded into the first fee.
I have a long list of findings and screenshots. Will the specialist answer all of them?
Send the list — questions, findings, screenshots — and the specialist answers it point by point during the virtual consultation, saying where they cannot address an item and why. What no one can promise is that they will confirm or agree with every prior finding, whether there are 4 or 40: they do not know what they will see until they look, and anyone who tells you the answer before looking is not being straight with you. Send the original scan data via a shared drive, not screenshots — the detail a screenshot loses is the detail you want examined.
Can I get a second opinion before I fly to China?
Yes, and that is the intended sequence. The whole $740 bundle runs remotely: you upload the study, the written assessment comes back in 1 working day, and the virtual consult happens by video. Nothing requires you to be in China. Doing it before you book flights is the point — it is how you find out whether travelling is worth it, and what you would actually be travelling for, before committing to a trip.
Who actually reads my scan?
A chief surgeon in the relevant specialty at one of China's top-20 hospitals, western-trained and English-speaking. That is deliberately a treating clinician rather than a reporting radiologist alone, because 1 of the 4 bundle elements is a treatment plan and not merely an interpretation. The match is made to your specific clinical question — a spine study and a brain study go to 2 different people. Jade Crane Health does not name the individual reviewer or the partner hospital publicly.
What do I need to upload for the review?
Send 4 things, in order of importance: the original DICOM export of the study, not screenshots; the formal written report issued with it; a short clinical summary naming your symptoms and the question you want answered; and any biopsy, pathology or lab results that bear on it. A 5th item is optional and often the most useful of all — prior studies of the same body area, because change across 2 time points settles findings a single scan cannot.
Why is a screenshot or JPEG of my scan not enough?
A DICOM export carries the full pixel data plus 4 kinds of acquisition metadata — slice thickness, sequence, contrast phase and orientation. A JPEG or a phone photo of a screen carries 1 flattened view at 1 window setting. A reviewer cannot re-window it to separate bone from soft tissue, cannot scroll the series, and cannot confirm how the study was acquired. Flat images are frequently returned as unreviewable, which restarts the process before the 1-working-day clock begins.
What happens if the second opinion disagrees with my original report?
Disagreement is a legitimate outcome, not a failure of the process — it is why the $740 bundle includes a virtual consult rather than ending at a written document. The consult is where you ask the reviewing specialist what specifically they saw differently and what would resolve it, which is often a further study or a comparison against prior imaging. Take both of the 2 reports to your doctor at home; neither replaces a clinician who can examine you.
Will my doctor at home accept a second opinion from China?
That is your doctor's judgement and it varies by country and by specialty, so ask before you buy rather than after. What travels well is the underlying material — 3 items: your original DICOM study, the Chinese specialist's written assessment in English, and a plainly stated clinical rationale. What does not travel is an assumption. The $740 assessment is an input to your care, not a referral, an authorisation or a substitute for your own physician's assessment.
Why is $740 more than a standalone imaging read?
Because it is not the same purchase. Cheaper services sell an interpretation of the images; the $740 (¥5,000) bundle buys the interpretation plus the clinician time to place it against your history and to state what to do next. A treatment plan built on imaging alone can be wrong. Jade Crane Health passes the hospital's listing price through with no markup, so the gap is scope, not margin — you are paying for more of the decision, not for a middleman.
Medical Disclaimer
This page is general information for planning and logistics. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment guidance. Always consult qualified clinicians before making healthcare decisions. Prices are as published on the date shown and are subject to change.
Want a second opinion on your imaging before you travel?
Join the Jade Crane waitlist and write "radiology second opinion" plus the body area and scan date in the message box.
Join the waitlistOr download the Planning Dossier (PDF) — what the $740 assessment contains, what we will and will not promise, and what a trip runs to.