Key points
- Start two to three months out, and ask each clinic for a clinical summary, recent results, specialist letters and your vaccination history.
- Inside the EU, patient summaries and ePrescriptions are due to be exchanged across Member States from March 2029.2
- Under the International Health Regulations, a yellow fever certificate has been valid for life since 11 July 2016.3
- Visitors bringing medicine into the UK need a prescriber's letter and can bring up to 3 months supply.4
- A wai Profile keeps your record with you wherever you are treated, ready to export at any time.5
Summary
Before you move, ask each clinic for a copy of your record, a summary with your diagnoses, allergies and current medicines by their generic names, recent results, specialist letters and your vaccination history. Get the key documents translated, carry a prescriber's letter for your medicines, and register with a clinician at your destination before your supply runs low.
Arrive in a new country with your whole health history, so the first appointment picks up where the last one ended. A few months ahead, a handful of requests and one good folder get you there.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee how a wai Profile keeps your results, letters and prescriptions on one timeline that you can take, or export, wherever you go.
| Item | Ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical summary | Diagnoses, allergies, operations, current medicines with doses | The first page a new clinician reads |
| Medicines list | Generic names, strength, dose, prescriber's signed letter | Brand names change between countries, and borders ask for proof |
| Recent results | Results with units and reference ranges | Units differ between countries, and repeats are avoided |
| Imaging | Reports and the images in a portable format | A specialist abroad can compare new scans with old |
| Letters and discharge summaries | Specialist letters, operation notes, care plans | They explain the reasoning behind current treatment |
| Vaccination record | Full history, plus any international certificate | Schools and borders may ask for it |
| Translations | Summary and medicines list in the destination language | Certified versions may be needed for official uses |
Why you carry your own copy
In a 2024 survey of 8,122 US family physicians, only 8% reported an ideal experience receiving test results from outside hospitals or health systems, meaning results that arrive automatically and are easy to find and reconcile.1
A new clinic abroad starts from the copy you bring, so that copy becomes the record your next clinician reads.
Request copies before you leave
Start two to three months before the move. Ask each clinic, hospital and specialist you have seen for a copy of your record, and specifically for a clinical summary listing diagnoses, allergies, current medicines with doses, and past operations.
Add the documents a new clinician reaches for first. Recent blood results with units and reference ranges, imaging reports and the images themselves, specialist letters, discharge summaries and any care plan. Ask for digital copies where possible and keep a paper set for the first weeks.
Most countries give patients a legal right to a copy, with a response window the clinic must meet. The UK and US rules are in our guide to privacy and permissions.
Translations, names and units
Brand names for the same medicine differ between countries, so ask for every medicine to be listed by its generic name, with strength and dose. A clinician anywhere can match a generic name.
Units differ too. Blood glucose, cholesterol and some hormone results are reported in different units in different countries, so keep the units and reference ranges with every result. A summary in English and in the language of the new country covers most situations, and official uses such as residency or insurance applications may need a certified translation.
Vaccination records
Bring a full vaccination history for every member of the family. Schools and immigration processes often ask for it, and a new clinic uses it to plan boosters.
Some vaccinations need a formal certificate. Under Annex 7 of the International Health Regulations, as amended by the World Health Assembly in 2014, the yellow fever certificate is valid for the life of the person vaccinated rather than ten years, and the change took effect for all States Parties on 11 July 2016.3 Keep the original certificate with your passport.
Keeping your medication going
Plan for the prescription that runs out before a new clinician has been found. Ask your current prescriber for enough supply to bridge the first weeks, within the rules of the destination, and book a first appointment soon after arrival. Keep any change to a medicine for a conversation with a clinician.
Rules at the border vary. For visitors bringing medicine into the UK, the gov.uk rules ask for a letter showing your name, travel dates, a list of medicines with amounts, doses and strength, and the prescriber's signature, and limit supply to 3 months.4 Medicines containing controlled drugs have extra rules, and the same guidance advises checking with the destination country's embassy before leaving.4
Inside the EU, records are starting to travel
The European Health Data Space Regulation entered into force in March 2025. From March 2029, patient summaries and ePrescriptions are due to be exchanged across all EU Member States, and from March 2031, medical images, lab results and hospital discharge reports.2
Moves within the EU get easier as that happens, and moves to and from the rest of the world rely on the copy the patient carries.
A record that moves with you
In a wai Profile, your results, letters, prescriptions and wearable readings sit together on one timeline that belongs to you. Your record stays with you wherever you are treated, it can be exported at any time, and every permission to view it is explicit and revocable.5
The new clinician sees the history you choose to share from the first visit. You can open a Profile today at set up your Profile, and our guide to personal health records shows how it sits beside a clinic portal.
Where to start
Three months out, list every clinic, hospital and specialist you have used in the last five years and send each a request for copies. Two months out, ask your prescriber for a medicines letter and a bridging supply, and gather vaccination records for the whole family.
One month out, arrange translations of the summary and medicines list, and find a clinic at the destination. In the first fortnight after arrival, register, share the summary and book a review of any regular medication.
Gather your results, letters and prescriptions into one Profile before you move, and share it with your new clinic when you arrive.
Frequently asked questions
Can my old clinic send my records straight to a clinic abroad?
Some will, depending on the systems in each country. The reliable route is to request your own copy and bring it.
How far ahead should I request my records?
Two to three months before you move. That leaves time for each clinic to respond and for translations.
Do I need my records translated?
A summary and medicines list in the destination language helps a new clinician. Certified translations may be needed for residency, insurance or school applications.
Is my yellow fever certificate still valid after ten years?
Under the International Health Regulations, as amended, the certificate is valid for the life of the person vaccinated, a change that took effect on 11 July 2016.3
How much medicine can I take with me?
It depends on the destination. As one example, visitors bringing medicine into the UK can bring up to 3 months supply with a prescriber's letter, and controlled drugs have extra rules.4 Check the destination's embassy before you travel.
Can I take my wai Profile with me when I move?
Yes. Your Profile goes wherever you are treated, and you can export it at any time.5
Sources
- 1JAMA Network Open, 2025EHR Interoperability Experiences Reported by Family Physicians (Everson and colleagues, abstract read via PubMed)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2European CommissionEuropean Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 3World Health Organization, 2016International Health Regulations (2005), third editionRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4GOV.UKTake medicine in or out of the UKRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 5wai, 2026wai Profiles, a personal health record for every patientRead 14 October 2026Read source
Your whole health history, ready for the next country.
Set up a wai Profile, bring your records together and share them with your new clinic from day one.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
Read how patient memory works in a clinic