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Email templates · Veterinarian

Email template to ask a vet to transfer your pet's records

You are switching vets, you have moved, or your pet needs a specialist and the new clinic wants the history before the first visit. Your pet's medical records are the file the clinic keeps: vaccination dates, lab results, x-rays, surgery notes, and the list of medications. The clinic owns the physical file, but in most states you are entitled to a copy, and clinics routinely send it to another vet on request.

Asking by email rather than by phone means the request cannot get lost on a sticky note, and you can list exactly what you need. Most clinics send records the same or next day, usually at no charge. A written request also helps if the old clinic is slow or you are leaving after a disagreement, since it is polite and gives them nothing to argue with.

Before you send

  • The new clinic's name, email address, and fax number if they list one. Many vet clinics still send records by fax, so give both.
  • Your pet's name, species, breed, and approximate age or birth date, plus your name as it appears on the account. Clinics file by both.
  • The rough date range you were a client, so they know to pull the whole file and not just the last visit.
  • Anything specific you know is in the file and want to make sure comes along: a particular x-ray, a blood panel, a rabies certificate. Name it.
  • Whether you want a copy for yourself too. It is worth having, especially the rabies certificate, which boarding kennels and groomers often ask for.
Subject Records transfer request for [pet's name] ([your last name]) 
Hi [clinic name] team,

I'm [your name], owner of [pet's name], a [age]-year-old [breed] [dog/cat/other]. We were clients from about [year] to [year or "now"].

We're moving [pet's name]'s care to [new clinic name], and they've asked for the complete medical history before our first appointment on [date]. Could you please send the full file to them at [new clinic email] or fax [new clinic fax number]?

Please include:

- Vaccination history and the current rabies certificate
- All exam notes and diagnoses
- Lab results and any imaging, including x-rays
- Current medications and prescriptions

I'd also appreciate a copy sent to me at this email address. If there's a fee for copies, let me know and I'll take care of it. Thanks for the care you've given [pet's name] over the years.

Best,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • Most clinics send records within a day or two and reply to confirm. If you have not heard back in three business days, call the front desk, mention the email, and ask when it will go out.
  • Check with the new clinic that the records actually arrived and that imaging came through. X-rays are sometimes left out because they are large files, and you may need to ask for them separately.
  • If the old clinic says they only send a summary, ask again for the complete record. A summary is a page; the full file has the lab values and notes the new vet needs.
  • If the clinic refuses because of an unpaid balance, the cleanest path is to settle the balance and ask again in the same email. Holding records over a bill is not allowed everywhere, but arguing that point takes longer than paying it.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get my pet's vet records sent to our new clinic 
Hi StandIn,

I'd like you to get my pet's complete medical records transferred from our old vet to the new one, and get me a copy as well.

My pet: [name, species, breed, and age].
Old clinic: [name, city, and email or phone if I have it].
New clinic: [name, email, fax number, and the date of our first appointment].
Anything specific to make sure comes over: [x-rays, a lab panel, the rabies certificate, or "nothing special"].

Please send the request, follow up if the records do not arrive within a few days, confirm with the new clinic that they have everything, and let me know when it is done.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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