Medical travel
A full-panel check-up, done in one morning
The whole physical in a single visit: the imaging, the bloods, the scopes and the clinical examinations, finished before lunch.
In short
A full-panel check-up in China is a complete physical carried out in one morning rather than across several appointments. A standard panel covers clinical examinations, bloods, low-dose chest CT, ultrasound of the thyroid, carotid and abdomen, cervical screening, tumour markers and a written report. Registration runs 08:00 to 10:30, and you fast from the night before.
Why people do this here
What surprises most people is not what is on the list. It is that all of it happens before lunch, in one building, with the results in one report. At home the same panel is a series of separate appointments arranged around other people's calendars.
These are things worth considering whether you arrange them through us or not. We coordinate the journey around the appointment. We give no medical advice, and we never will.
What every panel includes
Common to all five of the sample panels below.
Clinical examinations: internal medicine, surgical, ENT, ophthalmology, dental
Bloods and urine, including liver and kidney function, lipids and glucose
Tumour marker panel
Low-dose chest CT
Ultrasound: thyroid, carotid, abdomen, and breast or prostate
Cervical screening for women, HPV and TCT
Quantitative faecal occult blood
Urea breath test
ECG and coronary risk index
Retinal photography read with AI assistance
A written report, with an AI-assisted multidisciplinary summary
How the panels differ
Five samples, to show the shape of the thing. They are not a ladder from small to large. The broader panels leave out items the narrower ones carry, so the right one depends on what you want looked at rather than on how much of it there is.
A first full check-up, or an annual one
The standard panel
The whole core panel in a single morning: the clinical examinations, the bloods, low-dose chest CT, the ultrasound suite, cervical screening, bone density and arterial stiffness.
Anyone with a family history of cardiac or cerebrovascular disease
With heart and brain imaging
The core panel with imaging added for the heart and the head: a cardiac ultrasound, a coronary calcium score, and an unenhanced brain MRI.
A thorough baseline, or a first visit after some years without one
The broadest general panel
The widest of the general panels. Everything in the core, the heart and brain imaging, the immune and inflammatory bloods, plus a traditional Chinese medicine assessment and a digital copy of the imaging to take away.
Anyone who has been putting off an endoscopy
With capsule endoscopy
The core panel, plus a capsule gastroscopy swallowed rather than sedated, a volumetric breast ultrasound in place of the standard one, and a stool DNA methylation test.
Every panel can be built to fit
None of the five is fixed. Items can be added or taken out, and a panel can be assembled around a particular concern, a family history, or something a doctor at home has asked to have looked at. If you already know what you want examined, that is the easier conversation, not the harder one.
Specialist consultation and treatment beyond a check-up are arranged case by case, for clients who have chosen their care with their own doctors. Dental work, from routine cleaning through to surgical treatment, is arranged the same way.
Both start with a conversation rather than a form. Message Jane and describe what you are considering.
How the morning runs
How long it takes
A single morning. Registration runs 08:00 to 10:30, seven days a week outside public holidays.
What to bring
Your passport. Arrive at the time you were given.
Fasting
No food after 20:00 and no water after 22:00 the night before. Nothing on the morning itself.
Before the day
Three days of ordinary eating, no alcohol, nothing strenuous the day before.
Regular medication
Chronic medication is not stopped for the appointment. It is taken with a little water.
On the day
Loose clothing, no metal in it, no valuables. Breakfast is provided once the fasting tests are done.
The report
Collected afterwards through an account issued at the desk.
For women
- Tell the staff in advance if you are or might be pregnant. X-ray and gynaecological examinations are not performed.
- Gynaecological and transvaginal ultrasound apply to women who have been sexually active.
- For breast or uterine findings needing review, the window is three to five days after menstruation ends, and not the week before it starts.
What we do not do
- Give medical advice, of any kind
- Recommend or name clinics, hospitals or facilities
- Take any part in a clinical decision
Read further
Longer guides to screening in China, and a page for each panel.
Questions people actually ask
How long does a full-panel check-up in China take?
One morning. Registration runs from 08:00 to 10:30, the fasting tests come first, breakfast follows, and the remaining examinations are done after it. You leave before lunch with a receipt, and collect the written report through an account issued at the desk.
Do you need to fast?
Yes. No food after 20:00 and no water after 22:00 the night before, and nothing on the morning itself. Regular medication for a chronic condition is not stopped; it is taken with a little water.
What do you need to bring?
Your passport, and loose clothing with no metal in it. Leave valuables behind. Anyone over seventy, or with limited mobility, should bring someone with them.
Is the report available in English?
The panels are documented bilingually and the report is issued through an online account. Where a report needs translating or explaining to a doctor at home, that is part of what is coordinated.
Can a panel be changed?
Yes. These five are samples rather than a menu. Items can be added or dropped, and a panel can be built around a specific concern or a family history.
Can you arrange treatment rather than a check-up?
Specialist consultation and treatment are arranged for clients who have already chosen their care with their own doctors. One Sixteen East coordinates the journey around it and gives no medical advice at any point.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what you are considering and roughly when you might travel. We will tell you what the morning looks like, what your passport needs, and what is worth building the rest of the trip around.