Information last checked: November 2026. Processes, forms and portals change, so please confirm current details with your insurer, provider or the relevant health authority before acting.

Many families discover how scattered their records are only when a new doctor asks for them. This guide explains the layers, so you know whom to ask for what.

Where your records are

  • Each provider’s own system. Every hospital or clinic keeps the full record of the care it gave you. Only that facility can release its complete file, usually through its medical records or patient services department.
  • A shared exchange. Dubai and Abu Dhabi each run a health information exchange that lets authorised, connected providers see key parts of a patient’s history. This is not a copy of everything.
  • Your own copies. Reports, discharge summaries and imaging that you or your family hold. In practice, this is the set you will use most.

NABIDH and Malaffi

NABIDH is Dubai’s health information exchange, run under the Dubai Health Authority. Malaffi is the equivalent in Abu Dhabi, operated by Abu Dhabi Health Data Services in partnership with the Department of Health. Their purpose, as the regulators describe it, is to let a clinician treating you see relevant information from other connected facilities, for example when you arrive at an emergency department away from your usual hospital.

What this means for you:

  • Your participation and preferences are governed by the exchange’s own consent rules. In Dubai, DHA publishes consent and opt-out forms, and DHA’s form states that opting out is voluntary, does not affect your care, and that it also blocks access to your information in an emergency. Read that last point before you decide.
  • If you are in Abu Dhabi, ask the facility or the Department of Health how Malaffi consent and patient access work, since the current rules are best confirmed at source.
  • If you are on either exchange, a new doctor in the same emirate may see parts of your history. That is helpful, but do not rely on it to be complete. Bring your own records.

If you have strong feelings about privacy, or a sensitive history, raise it with the facility’s patient services team or ask your doctor what is shared. The choice is yours, and it is worth making deliberately.

How to request copies

  1. Identify the facility that holds what you need (the hospital where the surgery happened, the clinic that did the scans).
  2. Ask the medical records or patient relations department how they handle requests: a form, a letter, an app or the front desk. Bring your Emirates ID or passport and your patient number.
  3. Be specific about what you need: “discharge summary and operative report for 3–7 March”, “MRI report and the images on disc”.
  4. Ask about fees and timing up front, and request the copies in writing or through a secure link if you can.
  5. If a request is declined or delayed, ask for the reason in writing and escalate through the facility’s patient relations team. If that does not resolve it, the emirate’s health regulator (DHA, the Department of Health or the Ministry of Health and Prevention) is the next step.

The exact legal basis and process can differ between facilities and over time. We do not give legal advice, so if a refusal seems to conflict with your rights, seek advice from a qualified UAE lawyer.

Letting family or a helper see them

Records are confidential. A spouse, adult child or helper normally needs the patient’s written authorisation (and sometimes a copy of ID) before a facility will release information or discuss care. Where a patient cannot decide for themselves, the facility will have its own rules about who may act, so ask early rather than in a crisis. This is the same principle we follow: we act on the patient’s authorisation, and information is shared only with people they name.

Practical tips

  • Ask for the images as well as the report; a second specialist often needs both.
  • Keep digital copies named by date and topic (for example “2026-03-07 discharge summary”).
  • Photograph paper reports as a backup, but send the original files wherever possible.
  • Records move with you if you change country, so translate or ask for English copies if the original is in another language.
  • Keep an up-to-date medication list. It is the most-requested single page at any appointment.

A records request to adapt

Message to a medical records department

Dear Medical Records team,
I am [patient name], patient number [number], DOB [date]. I would like copies of: [list]. For dates: [dates]. Please let me know the process, any fee, and the expected time. If another person will collect these on my behalf, please tell me what authorisation they need.
Thank you, [name, phone, email]

Our guide on organising medical records shows how to keep the copies once you have them, and care coordination includes gathering and organising client-provided records for your providers, with your authorisation.

Sources and further reading

This article offers general, non-clinical information only. It is not medical, legal or insurance advice. Always speak to your doctor or healthcare provider about clinical questions. In a medical emergency, call 998.