# Which medical records should you request before flying home?

> Choose records for the receiving purpose, then confirm the requester documents, language, medium and collection arrangements.

Start with the receiving institution’s requested record categories and dates rather than ordering every available document.

Written by the Girokdari Health Records Study Group editorial team on October 29, 2026. Canonical address: https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/before-flying-home.

## Where should records before flying home start?

Start with the receiving institution’s requested record categories and dates rather than ordering every available document.

Continuing treatment, another opinion and an insurance claim can call for different material. Ask the recipient to identify record categories, dates, language and original-or-copy requirements. The issuing institution can then clarify what it holds and what can be copied.

Article 21 concerns existing records; it does not decide which evidence an insurer accepts. A named purpose is useful for narrowing the request, but it does not replace the requester’s identity or authority requirements.

For example, a receiving clinician might ask about an operation record and images, while a payer might ask about a bill and its details. These are examples of different questions, not mandatory packages for those purposes. Confirm the recipient’s actual request and the issuer’s actual holdings. An existing record’s date range can be specified without asking a preparation tool to read the record. The tool needs no file or patient identifier to explain the request routes.

**Existing records and newly prepared documents**

| Request | Main basis | Preparation question |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Existing record copy | Article 21 and Rule 13-3 | Which dates and record categories? |
| New diagnosis certificate or opinion | Separate first-issuance rules | Does a clinician need to prepare it? |
| Bill and itemized costs | Benefit Rules Article 7 | Which receipt and details does the recipient need? |

## Are new certificates part of records before flying home?

Separate copies of recorded information from the first issue of a new certificate or clinical opinion.

The Ministry handbook distinguishes initial diagnosis certificates, opinions and prescriptions from Article 21 record access. Article 17 sets the basis for the specified clinical certificates. A copy of a previously issued document and a new statement describing the current condition are different requests.

Tell the institution which you need. A general certificate cap does not guarantee that a particular physician can prepare every recipient’s wording or complete an additional assessment before departure.

## Who can collect records before flying home?

Use the patient, qualifying-relative or designated-agent route and its current documents.

A relative with consent and a patient-designated agent have different document lists under Rule 13-3. The family paragraph no longer lists a patient-identification copy, while the agent paragraph retains it with the stated minor exception.

Under 14 and under 17 are not interchangeable thresholds. For a death or specified inability-to-consent situation, Annex 2-2 lists the corresponding evidence. Arrange the actual institutional request before relying on another person to collect material after you have left.

## Which medium suits records before flying home?

Confirm the recipient’s usable medium and distinguish written reports from imaging copies.

An imaging report and the image files are distinct material. Ask the receiving institution what it can review and the issuer which medium is available. The notice separately lists film, CD and DVD. USB has no entry in the reviewed cap annex.

The fee calculator therefore leaves an overall USB-containing total unknown, while retaining the verified-item subtotal. A familiar file extension or portable drive does not establish compatibility with every overseas system.

Media units also prevent a cost comparison from confusing pages and discs. A copied written record uses the first-five-page and later-page tiers, while an imaging CD uses a per-disc unit. Neither unit tells you how many examinations will fit on a disc or what a foreign recipient’s software supports. Ask the issuer about the actual supplied material before deciding the quantities. The calculator applies the quantities you enter; it does not inspect a chart or an imaging archive to derive them.

## How is delivery arranged for records before flying home?

Check lawful-request verification and the institution’s actual collection or delivery methods separately.

The 2022 handbook discusses several ways to provide records after the lawful request is established. That is different from a promise that every institution operates an overseas postal, email or portal service.

Ask how identity and authority are verified and how the selected records will reach the intended recipient. Keep patient files out of an unrelated preparation site. If another hospital requests records for care, the Article 21-2 or 21-3 route may need a separate comparison.

## What can dates show for records before flying home?

Your dates show the calendar gap; they do not predict certificate, translation or delivery completion.

The timeline tool compares user-entered dates only. It does not allocate standard days to a certificate or count working days for a hospital. Rule 13-5(3) has a five-day provision for a patient-requested transfer to another medical institution unless special circumstances apply.

That limited rule is not a preparation estimate for every departure document. Confirm the institution’s actual availability and any later collection arrangement without treating the displayed gap as an approval or completion indicator.

**Calendar comparison and statutory scope**

| Question | What it shows | Limit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Visit to departure | Calendar-day gap | No processing prediction |
| Article 21-3 transfer | Rule 13-5(3) period | Special circumstances qualify it |
| Translation/delivery | Ask the issuer | No general five-day promise |

## What should be checked at collection of records before flying home?

Compare the requested category, date range, language and medium with what was issued.

Check that the collected material matches the agreed request. If a category is missing, ask whether it is held, still being prepared or outside the selected scope rather than inferring one cause. Compare each charged item and its unit with the applicable rule.

The cap is not a payment decision by an insurer or a guarantee that another clinician has all information needed for care. Keep the institution’s request and collection information available for any specific follow-up.

Keep the distinction between request date, recorded care date, issue date and collection date. They can describe different events and should not be substituted for one another when checking the requested period. A record produced after a final visit is not assumed to exist merely because departure is later. Ask about the actual state of the selected document. This helps identify a concrete follow-up question without generating a universal rule about when every record becomes final.

## What else do people ask about records before flying home?

### What should I check about records before flying home?

Start with the receiving institution’s requested record categories and dates rather than ordering every available document. Continuing treatment, another opinion and an insurance claim can call for different material.

### Are new certificates part of records before flying home?

Separate copies of recorded information from the first issue of a new certificate or clinical opinion. The Ministry handbook distinguishes initial diagnosis certificates, opinions and prescriptions from Article 21 record access.

### Who can collect records before flying home?

Use the patient, qualifying-relative or designated-agent route and its current documents. A relative with consent and a patient-designated agent have different document lists under Rule 13-3.

### Which medium suits records before flying home?

Confirm the recipient’s usable medium and distinguish written reports from imaging copies. An imaging report and the image files are distinct material.

### How is delivery arranged for records before flying home?

Check lawful-request verification and the institution’s actual collection or delivery methods separately. The 2022 handbook discusses several ways to provide records after the lawful request is established.

## What should you read next?

- [Can Korean medical records be issued in English?](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/english-records)
- [Can records go directly to another Korean hospital?](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/hospital-to-hospital)
- [Korea medical-record request checklist](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/tools/records-checklist)
- [Korea medical-record departure timeline](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/tools/timeline)

## Where do these numbers come from?

- [Medical Service Act, Article 21: access to records](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=00&joNo=0021&lsiSeq=290667&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Enforcement Rule, Article 13-3: requirements for record requests](https://www.law.go.kr/lsLinkCommonInfo.do?chrClsCd=010202&lsJoLnkSeq=1028280683) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Medical Service Act, Article 17: diagnosis certificates](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=00&joNo=0017&lsiSeq=290667&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [2022 handbook on medical institutions and medical corporations](https://www.yeonsu.go.kr/clinic/institution/hospital_notice.asp?page=v&seq=162) - Yeonsu-gu Public Health Center
- [Enforcement Rule, Article 13-5: record-transmission request procedures](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=05&joNo=0013&lsiSeq=286963&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Annex: certificate-fee items, criteria and upper amounts](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?flSeq=95830869&bylClsCd=200201) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Health Insurance Benefit Rules, Article 7: bills, receipts and details](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=00&joNo=0007&lsiSeq=285513&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center