Discover: enquiry to opinion
The Discover phase covers stages 1 to 3 of the 14-stage journey: Enquiry, Records and Triage, and Medical Opinion. These journeys describe how a prospective patient finds care and earns a clinically informed recommendation, up to the point a transparent quote is prepared. Slow or vague responses are the single biggest reason cross-border leads fail to convert, so the funnel stages here carry the tightest SLAs.
Patient: discovery to funded case [Live]
This is the end-to-end path a prospective patient walks largely on their own, from the public marketing site to a funded case. They discover and compare clinics, read transparent pricing, register and verify their email, choose a clinic inside the portal, accept a quote, and fund the protected escrow deposit. It begins in Discover and continues into the Plan phase, ending the moment escrow is funded.
flowchart LR H[Landing /] --> M[Find Care /clinics] M --> CMP[Compare clinics] CMP --> TR[Treatments / Pricing] TR --> REG[Register] REG --> V[Verify email] V --> P[Portal Journey] P --> FC[Portal Find Care -> choose clinic] FC --> Q[Receive quote -> accept] Q --> PAY[Payments: fund escrow]
The in-portal continuation, once a patient is funded, is the in-portal journey to treatment.
Lead-to-case funnel (stages 1 to 5) [Live]
This is where revenue is won or lost. The funnel begins in Discover and crosses into Plan at the quote and escrow stages.
- Intake captures condition, reports, corridor, budget and language, and routes to the right case manager with a logged response-time SLA (under 1 hour to first response).
- Triage and opinion must involve a clinically trained person. This is both a quality gate and the moment trust is built. Records are reviewed, the case is prepared, and a specialist opinion is shared within 48 to 72 hours.
- Quote is transparent and itemised (treatment, hospital, logistics, facilitation fee), never a hidden markup, within 72 hours.
- Escrow set-up converts intent into commitment, with funds protected until milestones are met.
flowchart LR
L[New lead] --> T{Clinical triage}
T -- Suitable --> O[Specialist opinion]
T -- Not suitable --> X[Decline with guidance]
O --> Q[Itemised quote]
Q --> D{Accepted?}
D -- Yes --> ESC[Fund escrow deposit]
D -- No --> N[Nurture or close]
ESC --> CASE[Case confirmed: proceed to Visa]The escrow and payment mechanics that this funnel hands off to are documented in Payment and refund processes.
Treatment discovery and booking [Live]
How a prospective patient finds the right clinic and turns interest into an enquiry. They browse and filter the marketplace, compare clinics side by side, run the match wizard for their condition and corridor, shortlist a clinic, and submit an enquiry that drops them into the lead-to-case funnel at stage 1.
flowchart LR A[Browse treatments / clinics] --> B[Filter by specialty, country, price, rating] B --> C[Compare clinics side by side] C --> D[Match wizard: condition + corridor] D --> E[Shortlist a clinic] E --> F[Submit enquiry / request quote] F --> G[Enters lead-to-case funnel at stage 1]
Discovery is deliberately trust-forward: accreditation badges, verified reviews, transparent itemised pricing and honest considerations are present at every step. Booking is coordinator-mediated: the patient expresses intent and the coordinator confirms the clinic, the plan and the quote. Patients never pay a clinic directly; payment flows through escrow.
Medical consultation [Live]
How a patient earns a clinically informed recommendation before committing any money. The patient uploads their records to the document wallet, the coordinator assembles the case, and a credentialed specialist reviews it, requesting specific additional records if needed, then issues a written opinion that feeds the treatment quote.
flowchart TD
A[Patient uploads records to wallet] --> B[Coordinator assembles case]
B --> C[Specialist reviews records]
C --> D{Enough information?}
D -- No --> E[Request specific additional records]
E --> A
D -- Yes --> F[Written medical opinion]
F --> G[Opinion shared with patient + recorded on case]
G --> H[Feeds the treatment quote]Consultation rules:
- The opinion is issued by a credentialed specialist, not by the platform. Global Clinic facilitates and records it.
- Missing or low-quality records are the most common blocker; the workflow requests specific documents rather than a generic resubmission.
- The care plan (pre-op, procedure, post-op, recovery) is derived from the opinion and shown to the patient on the Care Plan screen.
WF-4 Discovery and cost decision [Planned]
Status: Planned (implementation workstreams WS4/WS5). Brings discovery and pricing to government-portal parity. Screen references (U1, N10) point to docs/implementation/01-screen-specs.md.
Personas. Prospective patient (no staff).
Primary path. Search Find Care (U1) by state, then city, then specialty (29-taxonomy) on map/list, then open a procedure (N10) showing cost range, duration, room categories, inclusions/exclusions, and a benchmark band, then compare clinics, then enquire.
Alternate paths. Start from Treatments (U2) by specialty; start from Pricing (U3) by procedure; toggle to Wellness (to N3). Filter by room category or budget band.
Exception paths. No clinics for a city/specialty, widen to state or nearby cities; price range unavailable for a procedure, show "Request a quote" with the benchmark hidden.
Impact on existing flows. Procedure / Clinic / CostBreakdown gain fields (see data model); search adds the geo facet.
WF-7 Pre-travel medical opinion [Planned]
Status: Planned (implementation workstream WS8). Gives the existing "Medical Opinion" journey stage dedicated tooling. Screen reference (N9) points to docs/implementation/01-screen-specs.md.
Personas. Patient, Specialist, Coordinator.
Primary path. Coordinator opens a consultation; patient shares records from the wallet (N9); specialist may request additional records; specialist issues a written opinion (recommended procedure, suitability, caveats); patient proceeds to Quote (the journey advances). Record sharing is consent-logged.
Alternate paths. Second opinion from another specialist; opinion recommends a different procedure or specialty, then re-match the clinic (WF-4).
Exception paths. Records insufficient, request loop; specialist deems the patient unsuitable for travel, case paused with guidance; consent declined, records not shared and the opinion is blocked.
Impact on existing flows. The existing Medical Opinion journey stage now has tooling; advancing to Quote is gated on an issued opinion.