This service includes a pre-adoption medical evaluation of medical records, photographs, and videotapes by our international adoption pediatrician. We offer anticipatory guidance regarding medical concerns, effects of institutionalization, facilitation of attachment, language and developmental milestones.

  • Medical record review
  • Photograph and video review
  • Written report of findings, concerns and recommendations
  • Recommended treatment plan for primary care physician
  • In-person or phone consultation with adoptive parents
  • Report provided in person or via fax, with email support
  • Conference calls available upon request

Most adoptive parents receive a "referral" from their adoption agency, which includes information about a child who is in need of a family. Once you receive the referral, it is important to understand if you are a good match for that particular child based on the child's needs and your resources and expectations. Our medical record review provides you with an unbiased assessment of the child's condition. This understanding will help you in making this crucial decision in the most informed way.

We strongly recommend that you include this review step in the adoption process because agencies and facilitators are rarely qualified to assess a child's health. If a child is deemed healthy in the host country, an agency will typically accept that assessment. Nevertheless, we commonly identify health issues that can be important for your decision-making process.

We scrutinize all medical records, growth data, photos, and videos—any document that might give insight into the child's or birth-parents' health conditions. Of particular importance is evidence of conditions that impact long-term health (e.g., evidence of fetal alcohol syndrome, microcephaly, or prenatal infections).

Since the information we receive may be unreliable or incomplete, every effort will be made to provide as complete and accurate a report as possible, based on the information we receive. We encourage you to send us any information that can potentially shed light on the child, his or her history, birth family, environment, and living circumstances.

Response Time

We understand that accepting or declining your referral is a time-sensitive issue. Every effort is made to provide you with information within 24 to 48 hours of receipt of your materials.