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World desk4 min

How to Transfer Medical Records When Changing Surgeons

Ask the new surgeon what it needs, direct a records request to the right office, and confirm that reports and any needed imaging arrive before care.
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Start by asking the new surgeon’s office which records it needs and whether it can request them. Then contact your current surgeon’s medical-records office and ask it to send the specified records to the new surgeon or provide a copy to you. If care is time-sensitive, tell both offices the relevant date and urgency; the ordinary federal HIPAA deadline can be as long as 30 calendar days, with a possible extension.

How to arrange the transfer

  1. Ask the new surgeon what to send. Confirm which records are needed for the consultation or planned procedure, the date range, the preferred delivery method, and whether the office can request them directly.
  2. Contact the current surgeon’s records office. Ask for its medical-records or health-information-management department and follow its request process. You can request a copy for yourself or direct a copy to the new surgeon.
  3. Identify the records and recipient clearly. Provide the new surgeon’s name, practice, delivery details, requested records and date range. Complete any form the office requires for its process.
  4. Ask about imaging files. If imaging matters to the new surgeon, request the actual image files as well as radiology reports. Ask how the office will deliver them; large files may require a different method than ordinary documents.
  5. Keep a record and confirm delivery. Save your request and any confirmation. Follow up with the records office, then ask the new surgeon’s office to confirm that the files arrived and can be opened.

Do not assume an ordinary records request will arrive in time for urgent care. Tell both offices the appointment or procedure date and why the records are needed promptly, and ask whether they can transmit them sooner.

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Which records should you request?

Let the new surgeon’s office decide what is clinically relevant; there is no universal list that every surgeon needs. Depending on your situation, ask whether it wants:

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  • Consultation notes and operative reports
  • Relevant imaging and radiology reports, including the image files when needed
  • Pathology reports
  • Laboratory and other test results
  • Medication and allergy information
  • Discharge summaries and follow-up instructions

HIPAA access generally covers information in a provider’s designated record set, including clinical notes, lab reports, and X-rays or other images maintained there. The provider must supply the requested form or format if it is readily producible; a particular electronic format is not guaranteed.

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Can the old surgeon send records directly?

HIPAA permits a provider to disclose protected health information to another provider for treatment without the patient’s authorization. It does not, however, require the old provider to send records to the new one. Offices may also use their own forms or workflows. A practical alternative is to make a patient access request that names the new surgeon as the recipient. HHS explains the third-party access right in its right-of-access guidance and discusses treatment disclosures in its provider-to-provider FAQ.

Keep the two routes distinct. The HIPAA right-of-access process has a federal response timeline. A separate authorization-based request to send information kept on paper or in another non-electronic format may be treated differently: the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology notes that a separate authorization may be needed for that route and that HIPAA does not set a deadline for responding to an authorization request. See its guidance on sending information to another person.

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How long can the transfer take?

For a patient’s HIPAA access request—including a request directing records to a named third party—the covered entity generally must act within 30 calendar days after receiving it. It may take one extension of up to 30 additional days if it sends written notice within the initial 30 days, explains the reason for the delay, and gives an expected completion date. HHS describes this as the deadline for sending records to the designated recipient in its third-party access FAQ.

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That is an outer federal limit, not a suggested waiting period or a promise that records will arrive before a scheduled appointment. Ask whether the office can respond sooner, especially when treatment is time-sensitive. State law and provider practices may differ.

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Forms, fees, and exceptions

  • Forms: An office may ask you to complete a form as part of its process. Do not assume HIPAA always requires a signed release for a treating provider to send records to another treating provider; HIPAA permits that treatment disclosure without authorization.
  • Fees: HHS’s patient-facing guidance says a provider generally cannot refuse a copy because you have an unpaid bill. It allows reasonable copying and mailing costs under that guidance and says providers cannot charge for searching or retrieving records. The page notes limitations related to a court order, and fees can depend on state law and the type of request. See HHS’s medical-records guidance; do not assume one fee rule or dollar amount applies everywhere.
  • Psychotherapy notes: Psychotherapy notes maintained separately have a special status and are not included in the general access right described in HHS’s consumer guidance.
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When a request stalls or records are incomplete

If the records have not arrived, contact the current office’s records department with the request date and any confirmation number, then ask what remains outstanding and when it expects to send the material. Confirm with the new surgeon whether it received readable files and whether anything is missing. If the scheduled care is near, tell both offices the date and urgency rather than relying on the ordinary access deadline.

If you receive only a report but the new surgeon needs the actual images, ask the old office specifically for the diagnostic image files and the delivery method it can provide. If you requested an electronic format it cannot readily produce, ask what available format it can supply and whether that will work for the new office.

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