Hospital won't give the discharge summary or my records — how do I get them?

Ask the hospital in writing, name each record you need, and keep a dated acknowledgement of your request. For a health claim you also have a second route: the insurer and its TPA are meant to collect the required documents from the hospital themselves, so tell the insurer in writing what the hospital has not released and ask it to collect them. A missing record should not, on its own, close your claim.

For a health claim, IRDAI's health master circular puts the collection of hospital documents on the insurer and its TPA: "Pursuant to intimation of the claim, Insurers and Third Party Administrators (TPAs) shall collect the required documents from the Hospitals. Policyholder shall not be required to submit the documents."^[1]

That does not stop you asking the hospital yourself, and your own copy can help you understand the insurer's decision. But if the hospital will not release a record to you, the insurer still has its own duty to collect the required documents from the hospital, and IRDAI's 2024 master circular says no claim shall be rejected or closed for want of documents.^{[1, 2]}

Write a request the hospital can act on

1. 1

   Identify the admission

   The patient's name, the hospital's patient or in-patient number if you have it, and the admission and discharge dates.

2. 2

   List each record by name

   For a claim dispute this can include the discharge summary, the case sheet or indoor notes, investigation reports, the operation notes if there was surgery, and the final itemised bill. "All my records" is easier to delay than a named list.

3. 3

   Say who is asking

   The patient, or a family member with a signed authority letter and identity proof. After a death, the hospital may ask for proof of your relationship to the patient.

4. 4

   Get a dated acknowledgement

   Hand it to the medical records department and ask for a stamped copy, or email it and keep the sent message with its date.

5. 5

   Follow up in writing

   If nothing arrives, write again quoting the date of your first request. Each request and follow-up goes into your claim timeline.

Ask the insurer to collect what the hospital holds

Write to the insurer or TPA, quoting your claim number. List the records the hospital has not released, attach your requests to the hospital with their dates, and ask the insurer to collect the records directly, as the circular requires.^[1]

Policy wordings expect this route too. One New India wording asks the insured to "Provide TPA with authorization to obtain medical and other records from any Hospital", so offer that authorisation in the same letter if you have not already given it.^[3]

Insurers must also list the documents a claim needs in the policy document and on their website, and ask for them in one go. Check that list, so you know which hospital records the insurer actually needs rather than chasing everything.^[4]

If the hospital still refuses or ignores you

• Escalate inside the hospital: Write to the medical superintendent or the hospital administrator, enclosing your earlier requests and their dates.
• Keep the insurer informed: Send the insurer copies of your requests, so the record shows that any gap is not of your making. See answering document requests.
• If the dispute goes further: If your complaint reaches the Insurance Ombudsman, the Rules let the Ombudsman ask the parties for additional documents and collect factual information relating to the dispute that the insurer holds.^[5]
• Your rights against the hospital itself: This page covers the insurance side only. If a hospital refuses outright, ask it for its records-release procedure in writing, and take advice on the rules that apply to the hospital and its doctors.

ClaimAssure is an independent private platform. It is not an insurer, IRDAI, Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman, it never files anything on your behalf, and it cannot promise any outcome. What it does is read your documents and show you what they say.

More on claim documents and evidence