How to Share Medical Records with Indian Hospitals Before You Travel: A Complete Guide
Knowing how to share medical records with Indian hospitals before you travel is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure your treatment goes smoothly. When you submit complete, well-organised documents at least two to three weeks before your departure date, the specialist team can review your case, prepare a personalised treatment plan, and hit the ground running from day one — saving you time, money, and anxiety at the start of what is already a demanding journey.
Why Sharing Records Early Makes a Difference
Most patients assume the real work begins when they land in India. In practice, the work that determines your outcome starts weeks earlier, in the hospital's International Patient Centre, where a multidisciplinary team reviews your documents.
When your records arrive on time, the consultant can:
- Confirm that the proposed procedure is appropriate for your specific diagnosis
- Identify any pre-existing conditions that need to be managed during surgery
- Flag whether additional tests are required before you fly, so you can arrange them at home
- Prepare a cost estimate that accurately reflects your case rather than a generic range
- Allocate an operating theatre slot in advance, reducing waiting time after arrival
Without records, hospitals work from a blank slate. They schedule generic pre-admission tests, book conservative consultation blocks, and may delay surgery by two to five days while waiting for results. Those extra days cost money and extend the time you are away from home.
Sharing records early is not a formality — it is the step that converts a general enquiry into a concrete treatment plan.
What Medical Records Do Indian Hospitals Need?
Every case is different, but most hospitals request the following categories of documents:
Imaging and Scans
- MRI scans (brain, spine, joint, or abdominal, depending on your condition)
- CT scans with contrast (where applicable)
- PET-CT scans (for oncology cases)
- X-rays (chest, bone, joint)
- Ultrasound reports and images
Pathology and Lab Results
- Biopsy reports with histopathology findings
- Blood panel results (CBC, renal function, liver function, coagulation)
- Tumour marker tests (CEA, AFP, CA-125, PSA where relevant)
- Urine and culture reports
Clinical Reports and Summaries
- Discharge summary from any prior hospital admission
- Operative notes if you have had previous surgery for this condition
- Specialist consultation letters or outpatient clinic notes
- Referral letter from your treating physician at home
Prescription and Medication History
- Current medication list with drug names, dosages, and frequency in English
- History of allergies or adverse drug reactions
- Details of any immunosuppressants or anticoagulants you are taking
Ancillary Documents
- Echocardiogram or ECG (for patients above 45 or with cardiac history)
- Pulmonary function test results (for thoracic or respiratory cases)
- Diabetes management records if relevant to your procedure
Gather everything from the past two years for chronic conditions. For acute diagnoses, the most recent three to six months of records are usually sufficient.
What Formats Are Accepted?
Indian hospitals work with a range of formats, but some are strongly preferred over others.
For reports and documents
- PDF is the preferred format. Scan paper reports as multi-page PDFs rather than individual image files.
- JPEG or PNG are acceptable for single-page reports if the resolution is high enough to read clearly (at least 300 DPI). Blurry phone photos are frequently rejected.
- Word documents or Excel files are generally not accepted for clinical records. Convert them to PDF first.
For imaging (scans)
- DICOM format is required for CT scans, MRI scans, and PET scans. DICOM is the standard medical imaging format and contains the full scan data. Ask your radiology centre to copy your scans onto a CD or USB in DICOM format.
- High-resolution JPEG is acceptable for X-rays if DICOM is unavailable, but quality must be sufficient for diagnostic use.
- Do not send compressed JPEGs downloaded from a patient portal — they are almost always too low resolution for a specialist to review properly.
Language
- All documents must be in English, or accompanied by a certified English translation. Most major African hospital systems produce English-language reports; if yours are in French or Arabic, arrange translation before sending.
How to Send Your Records: 3 Methods
1. Email to the International Patient Department
This is the most common method. Most leading hospitals — Apollo, Fortis, Medanta, Max — have a dedicated international patient email address. Compress your files into a single ZIP folder and send with a short cover note that includes your name, date of birth, country, condition, and the procedure you are enquiring about.
Keep file sizes below 25 MB per email. For larger DICOM scan sets, use a cloud sharing link (Google Drive, Dropbox, or WeTransfer) rather than attaching files directly.
2. Secure Upload Portal or WhatsApp
Many hospitals now operate a WhatsApp line for international patient enquiries, and some have a secure document upload portal on their website. WhatsApp is convenient for sharing a handful of PDF reports but is not recommended for DICOM files due to compression.
If you are working through Arodya's intake process, you upload your records once through our secure form and we route them to the correct hospital team — you do not need to navigate each hospital's separate system. To understand how Arodya coordinates the full journey from records submission to arrival, visit our how it works page.
3. Physical Copies on Arrival
Bringing physical copies is a useful backup but should never be your primary plan. Delays in customs, lost luggage, or damage to a CD can set your treatment back by several days. Always send digital copies ahead of travel, and carry physical copies as a supplement.
Step-by-Step Process to Share Records with Arodya
If you are using Arodya to coordinate your treatment, the process is straightforward:
- Complete the Arodya intake form at /intake. This captures your personal details, condition summary, and destination hospital preferences.
- Upload your documents through the secure upload section of the same form. You can upload PDF reports and link to a cloud folder for DICOM scans.
- Arodya reviews your submission within one business day and contacts you if anything is missing or unclear.
- Your records are forwarded to the shortlisted hospital's International Patient Centre with a structured case brief.
- The hospital's specialist team reviews your records and prepares a preliminary treatment plan and cost estimate, usually within three to five business days.
- You receive a written summary with the proposed procedure, estimated cost range, suggested admission date, and a list of any further tests needed before you travel.
This single-submission approach saves you the time and confusion of contacting multiple hospitals individually.
How Long Before Your Trip Should You Send Records?
Timing matters. As a general rule:
| Situation | Recommended lead time |
|---|---|
| Elective surgery (knee, hip, spine) | 3–4 weeks before travel |
| Cardiac procedure (bypass, valve, angioplasty) | 4–6 weeks before travel |
| Cancer treatment (surgery or chemotherapy) | 4–6 weeks before travel |
| Organ transplant evaluation | 6–8 weeks before travel |
| Online second opinion only | 1–2 weeks is usually sufficient |
These lead times account for the hospital's review window, back-and-forth communication to clarify findings, arranging any additional pre-travel tests, and processing your Medical Visa — which itself requires an appointment letter from the hospital.
If you are working to a tighter schedule, flag this at the start of your Arodya intake. Expedited case reviews are available for urgent oncology and cardiac cases.
Privacy and Data Security: What You Should Know
Sharing sensitive health information across borders raises legitimate concerns. Here is what you should know before sending records:
Indian hospital data protection: Major Indian hospitals that treat international patients are bound by the Information Technology Act 2000 and internal data governance policies. JCI-accredited and NABH-accredited hospitals are subject to additional standards, which include controls on who can access patient data internally.
During transmission: Use encrypted channels wherever possible. Most hospital patient portals use HTTPS. Avoid sending scans over unencrypted public Wi-Fi; use your mobile data connection or a home network.
Through Arodya: Arodya acts as a data processor on your behalf. Your records are transferred to the hospital only for the purpose of clinical assessment. We do not retain imaging files or sensitive clinical documents beyond the active case period.
Your rights: You retain ownership of your medical records at all times. You may request deletion of your data from Arodya's systems at any point. If you change hospitals or decide not to travel, your records are not shared with any additional party without your explicit consent.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Sending low-quality scans. A blurry phone photo of an MRI report is not a medical record. The specialist cannot read it, and the request will come back to you to resubmit. Take the time to scan or photograph documents properly, or ask the diagnostic centre for a digital copy.
Forgetting DICOM files. Sending the written MRI report without the actual scan images is one of the most common errors. The report tells the doctor what was found; the DICOM images show them exactly what was found. Both are necessary.
Sending records too late. Uploading documents the week before departure leaves no time for the hospital to review, clarify, or request additional tests. You will land without a treatment plan and spend your first days in India doing work that should have been done at home.
Missing medication lists. Anaesthetists and surgeons need a complete medication list before any procedure. Drug interactions and contraindications are a safety issue, not a formality. Include dosage and frequency for every medication, including herbal supplements.
Not labelling files clearly. A file named scan001.jpg tells no one anything. Name your files descriptively: [YourName]_MRI_Spine_Jan2026.pdf. This helps the hospital team route your records to the right specialist quickly.
What Happens After You Share Records?
Once the hospital team has reviewed your records, you will typically receive:
- A preliminary medical opinion — whether the proposed procedure is appropriate, and whether any modifications to the treatment plan are recommended
- A cost estimate — broken down into surgeon's fee, hospital stay, anaesthesia, implants (where applicable), and ICU or post-operative care
- A suggested admission date — based on the specialist's availability and your preferred travel window
- A pre-travel checklist — listing any additional tests or consultations to complete before you fly, such as a cardiology clearance or recent blood work
- The hospital appointment letter — a formal document from the hospital that you use to apply for your Indian Medical Visa
From this point, your Arodya coordinator helps you book flights and accommodation, complete the Medical Visa application, and prepare for arrival. For a detailed walkthrough of everything that happens from records submission through to returning home, read our First-Time Travel to India for Treatment guide.
The medical records step is where your journey from enquiry to confirmed treatment plan really begins. Get it right early, and everything that follows is smoother.
Kavitha Menon is a Patient Experience and Travel Researcher at Arodya with a background in international patient coordination across South and Southeast Asia. She has helped patients from more than 20 countries navigate their pre-travel document process.
