Step 1: Get copies of your records yourself
In the United States, HIPAA gives you the right to inspect and get copies of the medical and billing records that health providers and plans hold about you. There are a few exceptions, such as a provider's psychotherapy notes (HHS, 2025). A covered provider must act on your request within 30 days. It can take one extension of up to 30 more days, but only if it tells you in writing why and when it will finish (45 CFR 164.524, eCFR 2026).
If you ask for electronic copies, the provider must supply them in the format you request if it can readily produce it. Otherwise it must offer a readable electronic format you both agree on. It may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee limited to things like copying labour, supplies and postage (45 CFR 164.524). HHS adds that a provider can't refuse to give you copies because you owe it money for care, and can't charge for searching for or retrieving the records (HHS, 2025).
It's usually better to request copies to yourself than to ask a US hospital to send them directly to a foreign clinic. HHS notes that the Privacy Rule doesn't require providers to share information with other providers. Having your own set also lets you send the same packet to every clinic you're getting a quote from. Because the legal deadline is measured in weeks, ask well before you want quotes.
What to ask your providers for
- The most recent specialist note that recommends or discusses the surgery
- Imaging reports and the images themselves, not just the radiologist's summary
- Recent blood tests and any other lab results relevant to the procedure
- Operative reports and discharge summaries for any earlier surgery in the same area
- Pathology reports, if tissue has ever been tested
- A current medication list and allergy record
- Clearance letters from cardiology, pulmonology or other specialists, if you have them
- Implant cards or device details from any earlier operation
Different operations need different items from this list. Our guide to DICOM, photos, labs and pathology explains which records matter for which kind of quote. This article is about getting, organizing and sending them.
When records are spread across several places
Records are often split up. A hospital's records may hold the radiologist's report but not the images, which stay with the imaging centre. An earlier operation may have been done somewhere that has since changed its records system. Send separate requests to each place and note the date of each one. That way you can follow up on the ones that haven't arrived, rather than waiting on all of them.
Step 2: Ask for formats a surgeon can use
- Imaging: ask for the original study files, usually on a disc or as a download from the imaging centre or patient portal, along with the written report as a PDF. Photos of a screen lose detail and can't be scrolled through.
- Notes and lab results: PDF exports from a patient portal are best. Screenshots of a phone app are harder to read and often cut off dates and reference ranges.
- Earlier treatment abroad: ask that facility for records in English. CDC advises medical tourists to request their overseas records in English and share them with any clinician who sees them afterwards (CDC Yellow Book, 2026).
Step 3: Build the packet
Put a one-page summary on top
A surgeon reviewing dozens of enquiries reads the summary first and opens the attachments to check it. Keep it to one page and cover:
- Your age, height and weight
- The procedure you're asking about, and who recommended it
- Your main diagnosis or goal, and how long you've had the problem
- Treatments already tried
- Earlier surgeries, with dates, especially in the same area
- Other health conditions, current medicines with doses, allergies and any past reaction to anesthesia
- Smoking or nicotine use
- Your intended travel window and whether you could stay longer if advised
- Whether you want a rough range or a surgeon-reviewed quote
List every medicine, including blood thinners, diabetes medicines, weight-loss injections and supplements. Anesthesia and surgical teams plan around them, and leaving one out is a common reason a price or date changes later.
Name files so they sort in date order
A consistent naming pattern lets the reviewer follow your history without opening every file. An illustrative set:
| File name | Contents |
|---|---|
| 01_Summary_2026-10.pdf | Your one-page summary |
| 02_Specialist-note_2026-09-14.pdf | Most recent consultation |
| 03_MRI-report_2026-08-30.pdf | Radiologist's report |
| 04_MRI-images_2026-08-30.zip | The study files |
| 05_Labs_2026-09-20.pdf | Blood work |
| 06_Op-report_2019-05-02.pdf | Earlier surgery in the same area |
If a finding is old or may have changed (an X-ray from several years ago, say, or a weight that has since dropped), say so in the summary. That stops a surgeon quoting on an out-of-date picture.
Think about language
If the clinic works mainly in Spanish or another language, ask whether its surgeons read English medical reports. A summary in both languages can help. If you use a translation tool for anything clinical, label it as a machine translation so nobody mistakes it for the original.
Step 4: Send it safely
The rights HHS describes apply to US health plans and providers covered by HIPAA. Once a clinic abroad holds your files, how they're handled depends on that country's rules and the clinic's own policies. So be deliberate about what you send and how.
- Use the clinic's secure upload or a named email address, and ask which one it prefers before sending anything.
- Send large imaging as a download link that expires, rather than dozens of attachments. Messaging apps are fine for conversation but awkward for big study folders, and a link is easier to open on the clinic's workstation.
- Password-protect archives and send the password by a different channel.
- Send only what's relevant. A knee quote doesn't need your full medical history from childhood.
- Keep a log of what you sent, to whom and when. If a quote later turns out to be based on missing information, you'll know whether it was ever provided.
Step 5: Confirm what was received and reviewed
Ask the clinic to confirm that every file arrived and opens, especially imaging. Then ask who reviewed the packet and whether anything is missing. A useful reply names the reviewer and lists any further records or tests needed. A reply that just restates a package price suggests nobody opened the files. Our guide to how fast a surgery quote should come back covers how to read that kind of reply.
Mistakes that lead to inaccurate quotes
- Sending only the radiologist's report when the surgeon needs to see the images
- Sending dozens of unlabelled phone photos of paper documents
- Leaving out an earlier operation in the same area, which can change the scope completely
- Leaving medicines off the list
- Sending results so old that the clinic has to assume they've changed
- Sending different versions of your history to different clinics, which makes their quotes impossible to compare
The last point matters if you're collecting several quotes. Send every clinic the same packet on the same day so the replies are comparable. How to get 2–3 surgery quotes explains how to run that process without overloading yourself or the clinics.
Want help comparing surgery quotes?
Send the procedure and the quotes you already have. We can help you separate scope, inclusions, exclusions, travel costs, and the questions that need answers before price comparison.
Compare My Quotes on WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
Can a US hospital refuse to give me my records because I owe it money?
HHS says a provider can't deny you a copy of your records because you haven't paid for the care you received. It may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for the copies themselves.
How long can a US provider take to send my records?
Under the HIPAA rule, a covered provider must act on your request within 30 days. It can take one extension of up to 30 more days if it explains the delay in writing.
Do I need the actual imaging files, or is the report enough?
For many surgical quotes the surgeon wants to see the images, because the report summarises findings without showing size, position or detail. Send both, and ask the clinic whether it opened the images.
Should I send my records to several clinics at once?
Sending the same packet to two or three carefully chosen clinics is reasonable, and it makes their quotes comparable. Sending it to many clinics spreads your personal data widely for little extra benefit.
What if my records are in English and the clinic works in Spanish?
Ask whether its surgeons read English reports, since many do. If they don't, a bilingual summary helps, and the clinic may tell you which documents need a formal translation.