Refund & Reschedule Policy

When a Trip Is Locked, What Can Be Refunded, and How Date Changes Are Handled

This policy explains what happens after a paid coordination package begins. It covers itinerary lock timing, refundable versus non-refundable coordination fees, hospital date changes, patient cancellations, travel disruptions, and the important separation between hospital fees and coordination fees.

Effective date: April 6, 2026 Applies to paid coordination services only Hospital fees are separate unless expressly stated otherwise

1. What this policy covers

This page applies to paid Shanghai MedTrip coordination packages. It does not apply to the free case review stage. It is meant to clarify what happens once a case has been reviewed, considered appropriate for coordination, and a paid coordination arrangement has started.

This policy covers:

  • when a coordination itinerary becomes operationally locked;
  • which coordination amounts may be refundable and which are not;
  • what happens if the hospital changes timing;
  • what happens if the patient cancels or cannot travel;
  • how rescheduling works; and
  • why hospital charges and coordination charges must be treated separately.

2. When your trip is considered locked

A trip is not treated as fully locked simply because a payment has been made. For Shanghai MedTrip, a coordination itinerary is considered locked only when all of the following have happened:

  • your case has already passed fit review;
  • your coordination payment has been received;
  • we have started active scheduling and trip-structure work; and
  • a target timing window or hospital date has been confirmed in writing by our team.

In most cases, this written lock point is reached within 3 business days after payment, but it may be later if a case needs extra document review or a hospital scheduling response is delayed.

Practical meaning: Before written lock confirmation, dates are being worked on, not guaranteed. After written lock confirmation, your coordination work has moved into active operational handling.

3. What may be refundable

Coordination payments are not all treated the same. Some amounts may still be refundable depending on timing, while others become non-refundable once paid coordination work has begun.

Situation Refund treatment
Case review only, no paid coordination started No coordination fee applies.
Paid coordination started, but cancellation requested before written itinerary lock Any amount paid above the non-refundable coordination retainer may be refundable.
Hospital initiates a date change before travel We generally move the case to a new workable date rather than treating it as a cancellation.
Patient requests reschedule instead of full cancellation We usually apply the existing coordination case forward, subject to the reschedule rules below.
Default coordination rule: Once paid coordination begins, the first USD 750 of the coordination payment is treated as a non-refundable coordination retainer. This covers transition from free review into active scheduling, document handling, administrative setup, and itinerary preparation work.

4. What is non-refundable

Some work begins as soon as a paid case moves forward. For that reason, certain amounts are not refundable once coordination starts.

  • The first USD 750 of the coordination payment is non-refundable once paid coordination begins.
  • Work already performed for scheduling, case handoff preparation, date-matching, routing, and coordination setup is not refundable.
  • Once a trip is locked in writing, any remaining refund depends on whether a replacement date can be used and how much of the coordination workflow has already been consumed.
Important: This is a coordination retainer, not a hospital deposit and not a treatment payment. It exists because active administrative work begins before travel happens.

5. If the hospital changes the date

If the hospital changes timing, reschedules a date, or cannot support the originally planned window, Shanghai MedTrip will first treat that as a reschedule problem, not an immediate cancellation.

  • We will work to secure a revised workable date.
  • We will carry forward the existing coordination case wherever reasonably possible.
  • We do not charge a new full package fee simply because a hospital-side date moved outside your original slot.

However, if the revised timing no longer works for the patient and the case is abandoned entirely, refund treatment will depend on how much coordination work has already been completed at that point.

If a hospital-side change happens before travel, the default goal is to preserve the coordination case and move it forward, not force a full restart.

6. If the patient cancels

If a patient cancels for personal reasons, scheduling preference changes, medical hesitation, cost reconsideration, or any reason not caused by a hospital-side operational change, the following default rules apply:

Cancellation timing Default treatment
Before written itinerary lock Amounts above the USD 750 non-refundable coordination retainer may be refunded.
After written itinerary lock but more than 14 days before travel Amounts above the non-refundable retainer may be considered for partial refund, less any work already consumed and any committed third-party coordination costs.
14 days or fewer before travel Coordination fees are generally non-refundable, but rescheduling may still be offered under the reschedule rules.
No-show or same-week cancellation Coordination fees are generally non-refundable.
Best practice: If you may not be able to travel, tell us as early as possible. A timely reschedule request is usually easier to preserve than a late-stage cancellation.

7. If visa, border, or flight problems prevent travel

Cross-border travel carries risks that Shanghai MedTrip does not control. This includes visa refusal, denied boarding, transit ineligibility, border-entry refusal, missed connections, and flight cancellations.

If one of these problems prevents travel:

  • we first try to treat the case as a reschedule rather than a full cancellation;
  • the non-refundable coordination retainer remains non-refundable once paid coordination has begun;
  • additional refund, if any, depends on whether a revised date can reasonably be used and how much coordination work has already been consumed.
No guarantee of entry: Border officers, airlines, transit rules, and visa systems are outside our control. Travel eligibility remains the patient’s responsibility.

8. Reschedule fee rules

Rescheduling is usually better than restarting from zero. Our default approach is to preserve the existing case where possible.

One early reschedule

One reschedule request made more than 14 days before the planned travel window is normally handled without a new full package fee.

Late reschedule

A reschedule requested 14 days or fewer before travel may incur a USD 250 reschedule fee because existing coordination work often needs to be rebuilt.

Second reschedule

A second reschedule for the same case may also incur a USD 250 additional reschedule fee, depending on timing and complexity.

Hospital-driven reschedule

If the change is caused by hospital-side scheduling movement rather than the patient, we normally do not apply the patient reschedule fee.

Reschedule fees are meant to cover repeated coordination rebuild work. They are not hospital fees and do not create any treatment guarantee.

9. Hospital fees and coordination fees are separate

This distinction is essential.

  • Coordination fees are paid to Shanghai MedTrip for non-medical coordination and logistics work.
  • Hospital fees are medical charges paid direct to the hospital or medical provider unless explicitly stated otherwise in writing.

Hospital fees are therefore not part of Shanghai MedTrip’s refund policy unless we clearly told you in writing that we were collecting a specific hospital-related amount on your behalf.

Default rule: Hospital consult fees, testing fees, medication fees, and other medical charges paid direct are outside the scope of our refund policy.

10. Contact us about refund or reschedule questions

If you think you may need to reschedule, cancel, or report a travel disruption, contact us as soon as possible. Early notice usually creates better options than late notice.

Refund / reschedule contact

Use the details below for any cancellation, date-change, or refund-related request.

Email: [email protected]
Suggested subject line: Refund or Reschedule Request – Shanghai MedTrip
Please include: your name, package type, current date window, and whether you are requesting cancellation or reschedule.
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Next step

Make the rules visible before payment, not after problems appear.

This policy works best when it is linked directly from Pricing, Terms of Service, and every paid coordination page. High-intent users should understand the refund and reschedule structure before they commit.

Back to Pricing Read Terms of Service