Send one organized case file to every clinic and you get answers you can compare. Send three different partial sets and you get three quotes that rest on three different pictures of you. Build the packet once, before the first inquiry, and keep it current.
Why one packet beats three conversations
When people contact several clinics, they tend to answer each clinic's intake questions separately. One clinic gets the MRI, another gets only the report, and a third gets a summary typed into a chat window. The quotes that come back can't be compared, because each clinician saw a different case. A single packet fixes that. Every reviewer starts from the same facts, and any difference in recommendation reflects their judgment, not your paperwork.
It also saves time. Clinicians ask fewer follow-up questions, and you aren't digging out the same file at midnight for the third time.
What goes in the packet
One page in plain language: what you're seeking, your main diagnosis and its date, and what has been tried.
The image files themselves where possible, not just the radiologist's report, and the report too.
Recent results, each with its date, so a reviewer can tell old values from current ones.
Operative notes and pathology reports for any surgery in the same area or affecting anesthesia.
Names, doses and frequency, including supplements, plus allergies and the reactions they cause.
Recent notes from the specialists managing the condition or related conditions.
Only when the clinic asks, taken the way it specifies. Send them through the clinical channel.
The decision you want each consultation to help you make.
Your travel window, time off work, and anything that limits recovery time away.
Requesting records from US providers
If your records sit with US providers, you have a legal right to copies. Under the HIPAA access rule (45 CFR 164.524, eCFR 2026):
- A provider must act on your request within 30 days and may take one extension of no more than 30 days, with a written explanation.
- If the records are kept electronically and you ask for an electronic copy, it must come in the form you request if that is readily producible.
- A signed written request can direct the copy to another person, such as the reviewing clinic.
- Fees are limited to a reasonable, cost-based charge.
HHS adds that a provider can't refuse to give you copies because you haven't paid a bill, and can't charge you for searching for or retrieving the records (HHS, 2025). For imaging, ask the imaging center for the original image files on a disc or by download, as well as the report. Our guide to transferring medical records internationally covers the sending side.
Write the one-page summary
The summary is the page every reviewer reads first, and sometimes the only one a coordinator forwards. Keep it factual and short:
- Age, sex and the treatment you're asking about
- Main diagnosis, who made it and when
- Relevant history: other conditions, past surgeries, anesthesia problems
- Treatments already tried and how they went
- Current medications and allergies (or "see attached list")
- Key recent results, with dates
- What you hope the treatment will achieve
- Your realistic travel window
Don't guess at a diagnosis you haven't been given. "Knee pain for two years, MRI attached" is more useful to a clinician than a self-diagnosis.
Organize it so a stranger can find things
The reviewer has never met you. Make the packet easy to navigate:
- One folder, one index. Put an index page first that lists each file and its date.
- Consistent file names. Something like 2026-08-14_MRI-report_left-knee.pdf sorts correctly and explains itself.
- Version labels. Mark the packet "v1," and when you add a new test, send "v2" with a one-line note on what changed.
- Readable formats. Combine scanned pages into PDFs, and check that every page is legible before you send.
Language and translation
Ask each clinic whether its reviewing clinician will read the packet in English, or whether key reports should be translated. If you use machine translation for convenience, label it as such and include the original. On the way home the direction reverses. CDC advises asking for your overseas records in English and bringing them to future providers (CDC Yellow Book, 2026). Ask about that before treatment, too.
Send it safely, and keep a log
Public contact forms, including the one on this page, are for routing an inquiry, not for medical files. Ask each clinic for its clinical channel for records. Send the packet there, not to a personal phone number or a social media inbox. Keep a simple sent-log: date, clinic, packet version, channel and who confirmed receipt. When a quote arrives, you'll know exactly which version it was based on.
Use the packet to make quotes comparable
Send the same short list of questions with every packet. Prepare for the call using our remote consultation prep guide.
- Which clinician reviewed these records?
- Is anything missing that you need before recommending treatment?
- What do you recommend, and what could change that after an in-person exam?
- What does the quote include, item by item?
- Which tests would you repeat in Colombia, and why?
Gaps that stall a review
A few omissions are easy to make, and each one tends to lead to a "please send" message and another week's delay:
- The report without the images, or the images without the report. Many reviewers want both, and the imaging center may need a separate request.
- Undated results. A lab value with no date can't be relied on, and the clinic may ask you to repeat it.
- Missing operative notes. If you've had surgery in the same area, the surgeon reviewing a revision or related procedure will want to know what was done before.
- A partial medication list. Leaving out supplements, blood thinners or recently stopped drugs can change anesthesia and timing advice.
- Photos that don't follow instructions. Where photos matter, poor lighting or the wrong angles may have to be redone.
- Unreadable scans. Phone photos of paper records taken at an angle are hard to read. Use a scanning app or a flatbed scanner.
Before you send version one, have someone else open the folder cold and try to find the most recent imaging report and the medication list. If it takes them more than a minute, reorganize.
Keep the packet alive
The packet is a working file. Update it after every new test, and send the new version to any clinic still in the running. Travel with a copy: offline on your phone, with a paper summary and medication list in your carry-on. After treatment, add the Colombian records, discharge instructions and any implant or device details. The same packet then becomes the handoff to your home clinicians.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I include in the packet?
Include what bears on the treatment you're asking about, plus anything that affects anesthesia or recovery. Leave out unrelated decades-old records unless a clinic asks for them. A focused packet gets read more carefully than a very large one.
Do I need to translate my records into Spanish?
Not always. Ask each clinic whether its reviewing clinician works from English documents. If translation is needed, start with the summary and the reports that drive the decision, and keep the originals attached.
Can a US provider refuse to give me my records because I owe a bill?
No. HHS says a provider can't deny you a copy because you haven't paid for services, though it may charge reasonable copying and mailing costs.
Should I send my records through this site's form?
No. The public form is for basic routing only. Medical records, IDs and clinical photos belong only in the secure channel the treating team gives you.
How long will it take to get my records?
US providers have up to 30 days to act on an access request, with one possible 30-day extension, so request records before you start contacting clinics. Imaging files sometimes come from a separate imaging center, so request those separately.
Want help routing the trip or case?
Tell us the treatment area, destination preference, timing and the decision you are trying to make. This routes into the existing medical lead pipeline.
Related planning guides
Medical-travel network
- 45 CFR 164.524 — Access of individuals to protected health information (eCFR, 2026)
- US Department of Health and Human Services — Your medical records (reviewed 2025)
- CDC Yellow Book 2026 — Medical Tourism
These sources describe records-access rights in the United States and general medical-travel guidance. They do not establish an individual treatment plan or travel clearance.