Medical Records in México

It is possible to obtain medical treatment information in México.  The availability of records and the procedure to obtain them differ significantly from the U.S. and Canada.

Records are required to be kept for five years if a patient is admitted overnight at a hospital or clinic.  There is no requirement for records at walk-in providers, such as a doctor’s office.  Doctors and labs who treat foreigners, sometimes known as “Medical tourists”, tend to keep records of patient visits because they are aware of U.S. and Canadian insurance requirements for patient fee reimbursements.

Mexican law restricts release of medical file details.  Providers are by law limited to delivering a summary of patient identification, diagnosis, treatment and discharge status.  The law makes no allowance for copying the full file, reports of CT scans, release of X-Rays, medications or lab specimens.  This restriction applies even to a patient making his/her own request.

In practice, Federal and state laws are not consistently followed.  Some providers strictly follow the laws, others provide copies of doctor’s and nurse’s notes, drug disbursements, operating room notes, etc.  It is not expected that anyone would disclose by telephone their willingness to provide more than the law permits.

Likely reasons why some facilities provide full information when others will not….

1)        The clerk does not know the law
2)        The clerk’s attitude toward the law
3)        The clerk’s attitude toward facility policies

If a request is referred to a provider's higher administrators, expect only a summary. Some cleerks do not have authority to distribute the documents. 

Providers do not routinely respond to photo copied releases, including HIPPA forms.  They do not respond to a request not written in Spanish or unaccompanied by a Mexico certified translation if originally prepared in English.  We offer assistance with certified translations.

To secure medical file information requires a letter of authorization which appoints someone from our office as personal representative of the patient or an immediate family member in case of incapacitation or death.  The original letter must have a notarized signature and be accompanied by a copy of the signers government issued photo ID.

Usually, the person presenting the request must be the same person that takes delivery of the copied file or summary.

If the requestor is not the patient, it is most often necessary to attach a copy of a legal document which proves the requestor’s immediate family relationship to the patient.

In very few requests, a facility has insisted upon receiving a limited power of attorney prepared at a Mexican Consulate in the U.S. or Canada.  The Consulates can accomplish this quickly if the requestor shows up with proper identification and proof of relationship to the patient.

The amount of information which can be obtained is always situational.  At the least, you will receive a somewhat detailed summary.  Government hospitals and clinics can be uncooperative and records less detailed.