The clinical summary your Spanish doctors will want

Key rules

• Medicine names: Write medicines by active ingredient, with brand names only as an optional extra.
• Who writes it: Your GP writes the overview, and a specialist adds a report for any serious or complex condition.
• Format: No official format is required; a signed, dated letter on clinic letterhead works.
• Timing: Get the summary before you leave, while your current clinicians can still update it easily.

Ask for an informe-style summary

Ask your current clinician for an informe-style summary with your diagnoses, treatments (generic names), dates and results. Ask before you leave. Once you have moved, getting a letter from abroad is slower and harder.

Spanish doctors work from an informe clínico. You may also see it called an informe de alta (after a hospital stay) or informe de continuidad de cuidados (a handover for ongoing care). Your summary does the same job.

What it should include

Ask for these items:

• Your name, date of birth, nationality and preferred language.
• Active and past diagnoses, with dates.
• Current medicines: active ingredient, dose, how often, start date and what each is for.
• Allergies and bad reactions to drugs.
• Surgeries and hospital stays that matter.
• Latest key results with dates, such as blood tests, imaging, ECG, biopsies, HbA1c or kidney function.
• Vaccinations, and any devices or implants.
• Your treatment plan: monitoring schedule, next review dates and who follows you up.
• Contact details of the clinicians treating you.

Add anything that changes how you are treated, such as dialysis, blood thinners, an insulin regimen, oxygen, risk factors or special needs.

Use generic names for medicines

List each medicine by its active ingredient first, with dose and form. The Spanish public health system prescribes by active ingredient, and pharmacists give the cheapest equivalent. Brand names differ between countries, so add the brand in brackets only as an extra. Private doctors may still name brands.

Who should write it

Your GP should write the overall summary covering all problems, medicines and history. If a specialist manages a serious or complex condition, such as cancer, heart, kidney, neurological or psychiatric illness, or diabetes with complications, ask them for a separate report on that condition and its treatment plan. Spanish doctors take over most easily when they get both.

Format

No single format is required. A typed, signed and dated letter on clinic letterhead is normally accepted, ideally one to three pages. Attach the original reports and results behind it. English is usable, and a Spanish translation helps.

The EU Patient Summary is a standard record that works only between EU health systems. If you are moving from the UK or US, rely on a paper or PDF report. If you are moving from an EU country, ask your clinician whether the cross-border service is available there, but still carry a copy.

The documents list and the questions below cover the detail of what to bring.

Documents you need

• Overall clinical summary from your GP: diagnoses with dates, current medicines by active ingredient with dose and frequency, allergies, surgeries, latest results with dates, vaccinations, and the contact details of your treating clinicians. Signed, dated and on clinic letterhead.

• Specialist report from the clinician who manages a serious or complex condition, covering that condition and its treatment plan, monitoring schedule and next review dates.

• Original reports and results, such as blood tests, imaging, ECG or biopsies, to attach to the summary.

• Spanish translation of the summary. English is usable, but a translation helps.

Frequently asked questions

Should I list medicines by brand name or by active ingredient?

Yes, list each medicine by its active ingredient (principio activo) first, because the Spanish public health system prescribes that way. Add the dose and form, and put the brand in brackets, since brand names differ between countries. Private doctors may still use brands.

Should my GP or my specialist write the summary?

Your GP should write the overall summary, and your specialist should add a separate report if they manage a serious condition. Cancer, heart, kidney, neurological, psychiatric or complicated diabetes cases are examples. Spanish doctors take over most easily with both the overview and the specialist detail.

Does the summary need to follow an official format?

No, there is no single mandatory format for a foreign clinical summary. A signed, dated, typed report on clinic letterhead is accepted, in English or Spanish, and 1 to 3 pages is a good length.

Can I use the EU Patient Summary instead of a paper report?

Yes, but only if you come from an EU country whose system is connected to the cross-border service. It is not available to patients from the UK or US, who should bring a paper or PDF report.