Two teams, no shared system
Inside one U.S. health system, a specialist can often open the notes your primary care doctor wrote last month. Across a border, that does not happen. Your U.S. doctor cannot log into a Colombian hospital's records, the Colombian team cannot see your U.S. portal, and the records on each side may be in different languages. Nothing moves unless someone asks for it, authorizes it and sends it.
That someone is usually you, sometimes with help from a coordinator. Handled early, it is straightforward. Left to the last week, it is where cross-border care most often goes wrong: medications that nobody adjusted, a home doctor who has never heard of the procedure, or a complication treated without the operative details.
Before travel: what the Colombian team needs from the U.S. side
Ask the Colombian team for a specific list. Typical requests include recent visit notes, the problem list, medication and allergy lists, recent lab results, prior operative reports, imaging files and reports, and anything relevant to anesthesia. For complex cases they may also want a letter from your U.S. doctor describing your conditions and how stable they are.
U.S. law helps you get these quickly. Under the HIPAA access rule, a provider must act on your request within 30 days, with one possible extension of up to 30 more days if it explains the delay in writing; it must give electronic copies in the format you request when it readily can; and, on a signed written request that clearly names the recipient and where to send it, it must send the copy directly to that person (45 CFR 164.524, 2026). The Department of Health and Human Services (2025) adds that a provider cannot withhold your records because of an unpaid bill, and cannot charge you for searching for or retrieving them.
Two practical points: request the records yourself so you have a copy, even if you also ask for them to be sent to Colombia; and ask your U.S. doctor's office whether it can send large imaging files electronically. For packaging and translation, see organizing and translating records for care in Colombia.
Before travel: what your U.S. doctor needs from you
Tell your U.S. doctor what you are planning before you book. The CDC Yellow Book (2026) recommends discussing medical travel with your primary care clinician well in advance and agreeing, with both your home clinician and the clinician abroad, how complications will be handled. Specifically, ask your U.S. doctor:
- Will you see me for follow-up after the procedure, and what records do you want when I return?
- Are any of my medications a concern for this procedure, and who should decide whether to hold or adjust them?
- Are there tests you would like done before I go, or that you would rather do yourself?
- Would you be willing to speak with the Colombian doctor if they have questions?
Some U.S. clinicians are hesitant to manage care that follows a procedure done elsewhere. Better to learn that now and find another clinician who will.
Who decides what: a simple ownership map
Most coordination failures come from two teams each assuming the other is handling something. Write down who owns each decision and share it with both sides.
| Decision | Usually owned by | Why it needs both sides |
|---|---|---|
| Whether to proceed with the procedure | Colombian treating doctor, with you | Your U.S. doctor may know history that affects candidacy |
| Holding blood thinners, diabetes or other regular medications | Agreed between the treating doctor and the clinician who prescribes them | The prescriber knows why you take them; the surgeon knows the bleeding or anesthesia risk |
| Post-procedure medications | Colombian treating doctor | Your U.S. doctor needs the list to avoid interactions and to refill if needed |
| Follow-up after return | U.S. clinician, with remote input from Colombia | The U.S. clinician sees you; the Colombian team knows what was done |
| Managing a complication after return | Whoever treats you locally | They need the operative details fast |
If you take medications you will bring with you, check the rules early; see bringing medications into Colombia.
Arranging a direct clinician conversation
For anything that requires medical judgment from both sides, a direct conversation beats a patient relaying messages. Medication changes, a complex history, an unexpected finding during treatment and a complication after return are the clearest cases. To make it happen:
- Ask each doctor whether they are willing, and how they prefer to be reached.
- Give each side the other's name, specialty, contact details and time zone.
- Authorize the sharing of information in writing on both sides.
- Send the relevant records ahead so the call is about decisions, not data gathering.
- Ask for a brief written note of what was agreed.
Colombian clinics often communicate with patients on WhatsApp, which is convenient but informal; our guide to how Colombian clinics communicate explains how to keep important instructions in a durable form. For a doctor-to-doctor exchange, ask what channel each clinician is comfortable using for clinical information.
Authorizations run both ways
Privacy rules in both countries mean neither team can simply release your information to the other. In Colombia, Ley Estatutaria 1751 de 2015 requires that the medical record be handled confidentially and be accessible to third parties only with the patient's authorization or where the law allows, and it gives you the right to see your full record and obtain a copy. The Ministry of Health's rules on the clinical record, Resolución 1995 de 1999, describe it as a private, mandatory and confidential document. In practice, ask the Colombian clinic what form it needs from you to send records or speak to your U.S. doctor, and sign it before treatment, not after.
After treatment: closing the loop
The handoff back to your U.S. doctor is where all the earlier work pays off. Before you leave Colombia:
- Collect your records: procedure or operative report, results, medications, instructions and the treating doctor's contact details. The CDC recommends getting a complete set, preferably in English, and giving them to your follow-up clinician.
- Book or confirm the U.S. follow-up appointment.
- Send the records to your U.S. doctor before the visit, not at it.
Tell any U.S. hospital or clinic that treats you that you were hospitalized abroad. The CDC advises U.S. clinicians to screen for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, a group of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in patients who had an overnight stay in a healthcare facility outside the United States within the previous six months. Mentioning it up front helps them follow that advice. For what the full record set should contain, see the Colombia discharge packet.
Time zones and turnaround
Check the current time difference whenever you set up a call, because U.S. clocks change for daylight saving time during the year, and state the proposed time in both zones. Ask each office how long it usually takes to answer a clinician's question, and build that into your planning, especially in the days just before a procedure when a medication decision may be pending.
What a coordinator should and should not do here
A coordinator can chase records, track authorizations, set up the doctor-to-doctor call and make sure the U.S. appointment exists. A coordinator should not paraphrase a clinical instruction from one doctor to the other, decide which side's advice wins, or present themselves to either team as speaking for the other. When the question is clinical, the clinicians should talk.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my U.S. doctor's permission to have treatment in Colombia?
No, but involving them early makes the trip safer. They know your history, may manage medications that affect the procedure, and are likely to be the person who sees you afterward.
Can my U.S. doctor's office send records straight to the Colombian clinic?
Yes, if you ask in writing. A signed request that clearly names the recipient and where to send the records requires a HIPAA-covered provider to send the copy there.
Will the Colombian team send records to my U.S. doctor automatically?
Do not assume so. Ask what authorization they need, sign it before treatment, and request your own copy before you leave.
What if the two doctors give me different instructions?
Ask them to speak directly, or at least to see each other's reasoning in writing. Do not choose between conflicting medication instructions on your own.
My U.S. doctor will not see me after surgery abroad. What can I do?
Ask whether another clinician in the practice or a relevant specialist will, and confirm before you travel. Having complete records ready makes that request easier.
Related guides on this site
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