Getting Your Scans on a Disc or Drive

The report and the images are two different things

When you get a scan, two things are created: the radiologist's report, a written interpretation, and the images themselves, the actual pictures of the inside of your body. They travel separately. Your patient portal usually shows the report, but not the full image set, which is why a second doctor who wants to re-read the study needs the images on a disc or drive.

The images are stored in a format called DICOM, the standard for medical imaging, and a disc or drive of your study almost always includes a small viewer program to open them. For a genuine second opinion, this distinction is the whole point: a new radiologist re-reading your images can reach a different conclusion than the first read. In one study, subspecialists re-reviewing outside scans issued a differing opinion about possible cancer in about 13% of cases, and where the truth was later known, the second read was correct in the large majority 1Ref 1Ulaner GA, Mannelli L, Dunphy M (2017).Value of second-opinion review of outside institution PET-CT examinations.That subspecialist second-opinion review of outside-institution scans produced a discordant opinion of malignancy in about 13% of cases, and that where a definitive diagnosis was later available the subspecialist read was correct in the large majority, showing the value of re-reading the actual images..

A second opinion on imaging needs the actual image files, not just the written report, and the two are requested separately.

How to request the images

Contact the radiology or imaging department, sometimes called the film library or image library, at the facility that performed the scan, and ask for a copy of your images on a CD, DVD, USB drive, or by secure electronic transfer. You can do this in person, by phone, or with a written request. Many centers keep a simple form for it and can often produce a disc the same day or within a day or two.

Provide your name, date of birth, and the date and type of the scan, so they pull the right study. The HIPAA right of access lets you request the copy in the form and format you want when that is readily producible, so if you prefer a USB drive or an electronic transfer over a disc, it is reasonable to ask 2Ref 2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (2024).Individuals' Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information.That the HIPAA right of access lets an individual obtain a copy of records, including imaging, in the form and format requested when readily producible, and that any fee must be reasonable and cost-based rather than a flat or per-image charge.. If the images were taken at a hospital, the request may go through its medical records department rather than radiology directly; at a standalone imaging center, radiology usually handles it in-house. Putting a records request in writing helps when a study is older or archived.

What comes on the disc, and how to open it

An imaging disc or drive typically contains your DICOM image files plus a built-in viewer that launches when you insert it, so the receiving doctor can scroll through the actual slices. It is not a set of ordinary photos; DICOM holds the full study with its measurements and settings. Occasionally the written report is included on the same disc, but often it is not, so it is worth requesting the report copy too.

A few practical points. On many computers the viewer opens automatically from the disc; some Mac users need to open the disc and launch the viewer file manually, since the bundled software is often written for Windows. The files are large, which is why imaging is delivered on physical media or a dedicated transfer network rather than emailed. If you want the report as well, that is a separate item: request a copy of your imaging report, or if it is a biopsy-related study, obtain your pathology report through the same records channel. Keep the original disc and label it with the date and body part.

What it costs

A copy of your imaging on a disc or drive is usually inexpensive, and often free or nominal at the imaging center that took it. Federal rules limit what any provider can charge for a copy of your records to a reasonable, cost-based fee, essentially the actual labor and materials, such as the disc and the staff time to burn it, rather than a flat markup or a per-image charge.

The HIPAA reasonable cost-based fee standard is what keeps these charges modest; a facility cannot bill you as if the images were a premium product 2Ref 2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (2024).Individuals' Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information.That the HIPAA right of access lets an individual obtain a copy of records, including imaging, in the form and format requested when readily producible, and that any fee must be reasonable and cost-based rather than a flat or per-image charge.. Electronic transfer is frequently free. If you are told a copy will cost a surprising amount, it is fair to ask for the fee to be itemized and to point to the cost-based limit. Understanding what you can be charged for medical record copies, and the federal ceiling on those fees, is useful leverage when a quote seems high.

Getting the images to a second-opinion doctor

If you are gathering imaging for a second opinion, the cleanest approach is to hand the new doctor's office the disc or drive, plus the report, ahead of the visit, so the images are loaded and read before you arrive. Government patient guidance is explicit that transferring copies of your records, imaging, and scans is a normal, expected part of getting a second opinion 3Ref 3MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH) (2024).Your cancer diagnosis - Do you need a second opinion?.That a second opinion is a patient's right and that patients should bring or transfer copies of their records, imaging, and scans, so gathering the images for a new doctor is a normal, expected step..

The receiving facility often re-imports your disc into its own system, and its radiologists may re-read the study rather than rely on the outside report. Sending the actual images matters because the second radiologist can measure and window the pictures themselves, not just trust a summary. When you assemble records for a second opinion, the imaging belongs alongside the pathology and the key results; pathology and imaging for review are the core materials a specialist wants in hand. Providing them early turns the appointment into a discussion of the findings rather than a scramble to locate them.

When a network can share images instead

Discs are still common, but images increasingly move electronically. Some health systems participate in image-sharing networks that let one facility send your study directly to another, and some portals now offer image access or a cloud link in addition to the report. When electronic sharing is available, it can be faster than carrying a disc and avoids the risk of a scratched or unreadable one.

Federal information-blocking rules push toward making your electronic health information accessible and shareable, so if a facility can transfer your images electronically to another provider you have chosen, that is often the smoother path 4Ref 4Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC/ASTP) (2024).Information Blocking.That information blocking is defined under the 21st Century Cures Act as a practice likely to interfere with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information, supporting that facilities should make images accessible and shareable rather than obstruct them.. Ask whether the two facilities are on a shared image network before defaulting to a disc. That said, a disc or drive remains the universal fallback, since every radiology department can read one, so it is a safe choice when you are unsure what the receiving office can accept. Whatever the method, keep a personal copy of your own images.