Six weeks after his knee operation, a retired teacher sits at his dining table in Nairobi, tablet propped against the fruit bowl. On the screen, his surgeon in Chandigarh asks him to bend the knee, then straighten it, then walk to the door and back. Ten minutes later they agree the next step. This is what good follow-up looks like — planned before you ever fly.
Why follow-up is part of the treatment
An operation lasts hours. Recovery lasts weeks or months, and most of it happens at home. The questions that come up then are ordinary but important: is this swelling normal, when can I drive, should I keep taking this tablet? Having the doctor who treated you answer them, face to face on a screen, is reassuring — and it keeps your care joined up.
The CDC's advice to medical travellers is direct: agree a plan for complications with both your home clinician and the overseas team before you travel, ask what follow-up costs, and bring a complete set of records in English. Follow-up by video is how the overseas half of that plan works once you are home.
What India's telemedicine rules allow
India's Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, issued on 25 March 2020, set out how registered doctors may consult by video, audio or text. A few points matter for international patients:
- Only registered doctors. The doctor must be on a State Medical Register or the Indian Medical Register.
- Follow-up has a meaning. A consultation counts as follow-up when it is with the same doctor, for the same condition, within six months of the last one.
- Consent and identity. Consultations are not anonymous; your details are checked and you receive the doctor's credentials.
- Prescriptions have limits. Some medicines can be prescribed by video, others only at follow-up, and some never by telemedicine. Any prescription must be signed and sent to you.
- Records are kept. The doctor keeps a record of the consultation and the documents you share.
One honest caveat. A prescription from an Indian doctor may not be accepted by a pharmacy in your country. That is why your local doctor stays central: your Indian surgeon advises, and your doctor at home examines you, orders local tests and prescribes where you live.
A follow-up plan that works
- Before dischargeAgree the call schedule, a contact number and who your home doctor is.
- Week 1–2 at homeFirst video review: wound, pain, medicines, walking or breathing.
- Weeks 4–6Progress check, often with photos or a local X-ray or blood test.
- Month 3Recovery review and plans for the long term.
- Any timeRed-flag symptoms go to local emergency care first, then the Indian team.
Before you leave hospital, ask for these in writing: the discharge summary, operation note, test results, scan images on a disc or link, implant details if any, and the list of medicines with doses. Our guide to reading a discharge summary shows what to check. Share copies with your doctor at home before your first video call, so everyone is looking at the same page.
A few practical habits make each call better. Keep a short diary: pain on a scale of one to ten, temperature if you feel unwell, how far you walked, any new symptom and when it started. Take clear photos of a wound in daylight, from the same angle each time. Have your medicine boxes beside you, because "the white tablet" is hard to identify on a screen. And invite a family member to sit in; two people remember more than one, and they can take notes while you talk.
Check the practical side too. Agree the time zone in writing, test the video link a day early, and keep a phone number for the hospital's international desk in case the connection drops.
What a video call cannot do
Video is excellent for conversation, reviewing photos and results, adjusting plans and answering worries. It cannot listen to your chest, feel a tender wound or take blood. Some symptoms need a doctor in the room, today:
- Fever, or a wound that is hot, red, swollen or leaking.
- Pain, swelling or redness in a calf.
- Sudden breathlessness or chest pain.
- New weakness, confusion or severe headache.
For any of these, go to your nearest emergency department and tell them where and when you were treated. CDC advises clinicians to screen patients for resistant bacteria if they stayed overnight in a hospital abroad within the past six months, so mention your trip even if it seems unrelated.
How we arrange follow-up
We plan follow-up before you travel, not after. Your surgeon's team agrees the call schedule, our care team keeps the calendar and nudges you before each call, and your records are shared with your doctor at home with your consent. If you are recovering for longer in India, our long-term care team can stay close by; and our recovery roadmap covers the weeks after you land.
Already treated abroad and need a review? Our US$99 consultation includes two calls — a follow-up with the same doctor or a second opinion from another. Book one here.
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the official and published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). BookMedTrip is an independent facilitator and is not affiliated with any government body, hospital, charity or organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. If anything here is out of date or inaccurate, please write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
Maswali
Can my Indian surgeon follow up with me by video after I go home?
Yes. India's Telemedicine Practice Guidelines allow registered doctors to consult by video; a follow-up is with the same doctor for the same condition within six months. Your local doctor still examines you and prescribes where you live.
Is a prescription from an Indian doctor valid in my country?
Often not. Pharmacy rules differ by country, so plan for your doctor at home to prescribe any ongoing medicines, using your Indian discharge summary.
What symptoms after surgery abroad need urgent local care?
Fever, a hot or leaking wound, calf pain or swelling, sudden breathlessness, chest pain, or new confusion or weakness. Go to local emergency care and say where you were treated.
