How do I send an MRI to another doctor?#
- Locate the full study on CD, USB, or your computer (the whole DICOM folder, not just one picture).
- Choose how to move it: hand over the disc, use the new hospital's patient portal upload, or send a ZIP if the clinic agrees.
- Confirm the receiving office can open DICOM. If not, point them to OpenMyScan in a browser; nothing has to upload to OpenMyScan's servers.
Step 1 — Hand them the CD or USB#
If you still have the original disc or stick the first hospital gave you, this is often the easiest path. Drop off the physical media at the new clinic's radiology desk or mail it with tracking. Include any paper that lists your name and the exam date. Ask the desk whether they prefer the raw folder or the whole disc image. Either way, keep a copy on your own computer first so you are not left with only one fragile copy.
On Mac or Windows, copy the DICOM folder to your Desktop before you hand anything over, then preview it in our free MRI viewer to confirm the right study and series before the disc leaves your hands.
Step 2 — Use the new hospital's patient portal#
Many systems let you upload imaging through a secure website or app. Log in, find "upload imaging" or "outside records," and follow the prompts. You will usually select the entire folder of .dcm files or a single ZIP the first hospital gave you.
Uploads often fail when the ZIP is huge or the browser times out. If that happens, try a wired connection, a smaller split ZIP only if the help desk says that is OK, or fall back to bringing a USB copy in person.
Step 3 — Email or cloud-share a ZIP (when they say yes)#
Some offices accept a ZIP of the DICOM folder by email or a link from Dropbox, Google Drive, or WeTransfer. Ask first. Do not assume email is secure enough for their policy. If they approve, zip the same folder you would drag into OpenMyScan, double-check the attachment size limit (often 25 MB for email), and send a short note with your name, date of birth, and what body area was scanned.
Use your computer’s compression tool to ZIP the unchanged original study folder, or use the hospital’s official DICOM package. OpenMyScan’s image ZIP exports contain rendered PNG or JPEG slices, not the original DICOM study. You can use the viewer to check the original files locally before sending them.
What does the doctor actually need to see?#
A few JPEG screenshots are not a substitute for the original DICOM. Radiologists scroll through hundreds of slices and adjust brightness; that context lives in the full files. If someone asks for "the MRI," send the folder or the official ZIP from the hospital, not phone photos of a monitor.
What goes wrong when sending medical imaging?#
- My email says the attachment is too large
- Use the portal, a file-transfer link, or deliver a USB. Full brain or spine studies are often hundreds of megabytes.
- The portal only wants PDFs
- Call the help number on the portal page and ask for an imaging upload path; PDFs are reports, not the scan itself.
- I only have a film envelope, no disc
- Call the first hospital's records department and request DICOM on USB or download; most can produce it for a small fee or free.
- I'm worried about privacy
- Stick to official clinic portals or encrypted links they recommend. OpenMyScan runs locally in your browser when you check files yourself. It does not upload your scan by default.
Common questions#
Can I email .dcm files directly?
Often yes if the total size fits your provider's limit, but many full studies need a portal or file-transfer link instead.
Do they need special software?
Any radiology workstation opens DICOM. For a quick look on a normal PC, OpenMyScan in a browser is enough to verify the study opens.
Should I anonymize the files first?
Not when you are sending to a named doctor who already treats you. Anonymize only when posting publicly or using an anonymous second-opinion workflow.
Does this work offline?
You can continue viewing an already loaded study while its tab stays open. Load the intended study and try the features you need while online first: an uncached decoder or feature may still require a connection. Loading the page once does not guarantee full offline use after reopening it.
Do my files upload anywhere?
Your original scan files are read locally on your device without a scan upload. Small series thumbnails, library entries, and settings can remain in your browser after you close the tab. In Settings, “Clear thumbnail cache” removes preview images; “Reset library” resets series names, hidden entries, and some library preferences. To remove all data stored by this site in your browser, clear its site data in your browser settings.