Moving to the US and Medical Records

[CanadianGrrl 8]

Hi everyone!

I was wondering how to handle transferring my medical history from my Canadian family doctor to the doctor I'll have in the States. Would I need to physically take my information with me? Do I ask for a summary of my medical files or is there a better way to go about this? I'd worry less if my health history was straightforward. The secretary my doctor has is pretty horrendous, so I got no information from there.

Any help would be great, thank you!

[Ontarkie 13,902]

If you think you will need your records then it will cost you. They will not do it for free go into the office fill out the forms and hopefully they won't take forever and a day to do it.

I didn't bother with any of ours, I just gave my doctors here all the info and they were fine with it. But like I said if you think they need them then get them.

[VeeNDee 44]

I got my family doctor to fax over my records. To be honest, I have an extensive medical history so I have no idea what they faxed over (I know in their office they had three giant folders of paperwork on me at least whereas most people just had a tiny folder. They couldn't possibly have faxed it all over. I felt better passing some of the information on because of my history though - hard to know what is important to remember for the new doctor. In the end though it's kind of like starting over and for me that actually was kind of nice.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I requested that my old Canadian Dr provide my medical history because I 'thought' it might be super important regarding a few health issues I had. The Cdn doctor charged me like $5-$10 per page and I ended up paying a chunk of useless $$$$.

I can tell you that the first time I went to my new US doctor, they barely looked at it other then current prescriptions and then we decided on a full physical with a full panel of blood work to establish my current stats.

I can see it being useful if you have a history of a more serious disease or cancer or depression.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Udella&Wiz

[CanadianGrrl 8]

Wow, thanks for all the helpful replies! It was only after I posted that I began to read about the fees, but didn't realize it could be as high as $5-10 a page!

I think I'm convinced it's better to just go and see what's needed afterwards. The more interesting parts of my medical background, I have some documents on already, so I'm thinking that should be good enough to get started.

[Ms Hogan 295]

I had to pay about $300 I think for them to copy my records and my kids. I have a folder with everything that I will eventually scan myself to save but my doctor's office also scanned what they needed.

[JolyDan 13]

I have a lot of specialist and health problem so to avoid having to brings numerous pages and pay lots of $$$ what my physicians in Canada did was to write a summary one page letter with diagnosis, treatment and important stuff. For the rest I can always request copies if they need some old MRI or scan review or anything else.

So far it has been enough!

[ChristinaG 91]

I'm fortunate to have a great doc who has great staff! I've teased him that I'd love to take them all with me!

For my daughters and I, the doc said to just get him the email/fax of the new doc's office and they'll send whatever they need over... didn't say anything about a per page charge

I'd raise a stink about having to pay for that as it is YOUR file.... :P

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Biggest difference I found between Canadian and US doctors was the availability of my own medical info.....Back in Canada (Kitchener ON to be exact)I had never actually seen my file or what they had written for my history or a print out of exact results of tests. I was lucky to have a 1/2 hr visit once a year or I went to Urgent Care when I couldn't; wait a week for an appt.

Here in the US, they practically serve it up to me on a silver platter, they explain every number and every result from every test done. I can access my results on line and they explain where my number falls in terms of norms and averages...love it

Edited May 19, 2015 by Udella&Wiz

[ChristinaG 91]

.....must be the doc then.... my family doc has always provided me with this information if I asked for it with no hesitation.....

[Ontarkie 13,902]

.....must be the doc then.... my family doc has always provided me with this information if I asked for it with no hesitation.....

Your doctor could be eating the fees himself, it was at least several years ago that the province (Ont) stopped covering the cost of doing any paper work and doctors had to start billing for it.

I know just to have my doctor fill out any type of paper work no matter how big or small they were charging $70+

[CanadianGrrl 8]

Biggest difference I found between Canadian and US doctors was the availability of my own medical info.....Back in Canada (Kitchener ON to be exact)I had never actually seen my file or what they had written for my history or a print out of exact results of tests. I was lucky to have a 1/2 hr visit once a year or I went to Urgent Care when I couldn't; wait a week for an appt.

Here in the US, they practically serve it up to me on a silver platter, they explain every number and every result from every test done. I can access my results on line and they explain where my number falls in terms of norms and averages...love it

My boyfriend was explaining this to me the other day. He could easily round up his medical procedures/summaries just by looking online. That seems like a nice perk!

Your doctor could be eating the fees himself, it was at least several years ago that the province (Ont) stopped covering the cost of doing any paper work and doctors had to start billing for it.

I know just to have my doctor fill out any type of paper work no matter how big or small they were charging $70+

Interesting. None of my friends and family seemed to have heard about the fee for paperwork before. Still a little surprising and looking around on the internet, it seems like the fees are just as real if your doctor happens to close their practice while you're with them.

[Ontarkie 13,902]

Ya it's weird. I know the last 3 doctors I had all had fees with forms or if you needed your records. Even would bill you if you wanted to transfer doctors, so I never transferred anything.

[Dualie 185]

My doctor's office (Manitoba) will only fax records to a doctor down here (once I find one) at a cost of around $5 per sheet. I had switched doctors about six months before I left Canada, and the new doctor did not have my old file - she did give me a copy of everything she had in my file at her office. I think it varies among doctors, and it may even vary between provinces.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I know I felt like saying - how about you give me the file - I'll go photocopy it for free at work and take what I need