Sharing MRI images with your attorney without cloud upload
When your personal injury attorney asks for your MRI images, the tempting path is to drag the DICOM files to Google Drive or Dropbox and share a link. That works technically, but you have now put your medical records — including your patient name, ID, date of birth, and study date embedded in the DICOM metadata — on a third-party server under terms of service that were not designed with medical records in mind.
The cleaner path is to convert locally — produce JPG or PDF output from the DICOM files on your own computer, never uploading the source files anywhere — and then share only the converted output. The exported images contain no PHI metadata (the EXIF data in the JPG is blank; the PDF metadata fields are empty). Your attorney gets the images they need; your raw medical records don't take a detour.
For large MRI series (a lumbar spine study might be 400+ slices), the full version lets you batch-convert and download a ZIP of JPGs or a multi-page PDF in one operation. Share that file through whatever secure channel your attorney uses for sensitive documents.
Open the converter — free, no upload
Converting MRI DICOM before sharing
- Copy the .dcm files from the CD to your computer — do not upload the originals anywhere.
- Convert to JPG or PDF using this converter. No files leave your device.
- Share only the converted output through your attorney's secure file portal or encrypted email.
- Keep the original .dcm files — your attorney may need them for expert witness review.
Questions
Does the converted JPG or PDF contain my PHI?
The image file (JPG or PNG) contains no DICOM metadata — only pixel data. The PDF, if you choose the metadata header option, includes study information. Leave that option off when sharing with parties who don't need it.
Should I share the DICOM files directly with my attorney?
Only if they have a DICOM viewer or a vendor who can process them. Many law firms do not. Sharing a PDF or JPG removes the dependency and ensures what you sent is what they can see.
My attorney asked for 'native DICOM files.' Now what?
Some attorneys and medical experts prefer the original DICOM for their expert witness's review. In that case copy the .dcm files to a USB drive or use a service your attorney recommends for transferring HIPAA-sensitive documents. This converter handles the conversion step; secure file transfer for native DICOM is outside its scope.