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Legal help for international patients in Georgia: rights, consent, medical records and disputes with a clinic

The Law of Georgia on Patient Rights applies to international patients in Georgia: you have the right to information, to informed consent, to copies of your own medical records and to care without discrimination. Reviews of clinic contracts, formal request letters, complaints and disputes are handled by Advocat.Ge lawyers, while we coordinate the case, translate the documents and explain every step in a language you understand. Solidaroba.ge is not a law firm and does not give legal advice itself.

  • Advocat.Ge lawyersThe legal assessment and representation are done by a lawyer, not by a coordinator

  • In your languageEnglish, Russian and other languages, with an interpreter if needed

  • Written agreement firstYou see the lawyer's fee and our fee before any work begins

Describe your legal question

A few sentences are enough. If you have a contract, an invoice or a letter from the clinic, upload it. You will receive a reply in the language you choose.

Documents (optional)

We tell the clinic nothing about your enquiry until you have agreed to it in writing.

In short: what legal protection an international patient has in Georgia

  • Article 9 of the Law of Georgia on Patient Rights gives foreigners in Georgia the right to medical care under international treaties and, where there are none, under Georgian legislation.
  • The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of language, national or ethnic origin or place of residence.
  • Consent to surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, blood transfusion, dialysis and certain other interventions is given in writing.
  • The law does not expressly provide a right to an interpreter, so the language question has to be settled before treatment.
  • You ask the clinic in writing for copies of your medical records; the time limit for a reply is normally 10 working days.
  • In a dispute, the lawyer chooses the route: a formal written claim to the clinic, a complaint about the doctor's professional liability or a claim in court.

What rights do you have as an international patient?

Below are the articles of the Law of Georgia on Patient Rights that patients who come for treatment need most often. The name of the law and the article number will be useful when you write to the clinic.

Right Article of the law What it means for you
Equal treatment Article 6 The clinic may not treat you differently because of your race, language, national or ethnic origin, place of residence or illness.
Second opinion Article 7 You are free to consult another doctor or another medical facility, including after a date for surgery has been set.
Information Articles 18-19 The service and its cost, test results, the diagnosis, the prognosis, alternatives, the risks of refusing, the doctor's identity and experience; explained in a way you are able to understand, with as few technical terms as possible.
Informed consent Article 22 Consent is required before any medical intervention; for surgery and the other interventions listed in the law, consent is given in writing.
Medical records Article 17 You may see your records and request a copy of any part of them; the request is sent to the facility in writing. A relative or legal representative may do the same.
Going to court Article 10 Compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, suspension or revocation of a medical professional's licence, a demand to change standards.

The law contains no separate right to an interpreter or to information in your own language; the closest provision is the requirement in Article 19 that explanations match the patient's ability to understand. The practical conclusion is simple: you need to arrange accurate interpreting in advance, and that is what the medical interpreter service is for. A fuller explanation of your rights is in the free guide to patient rights.

The consent form is usually in Georgian, and alongside the medical information it often contains other terms: consent to photography, data transfers, an obligation to pay or a list of additional procedures. By signing, you confirm that the risks and alternatives have been explained to you and that you have understood them. That is why we prepare this document separately.

  • We ask the clinic for the form a few days before surgery, so that you can read the written translation calmly, not on the ward on the morning of the operation.
  • Your doctor explains the medical part to you through an interpreter; the non-medical terms, such as limitations of liability or the allocation of costs, are read by the lawyer.
  • You do not sign a blank or partly completed form; the date, the name of the intervention and the doctor's name must already be filled in.
  • Any question you have not had an answer to is written in the margin of the form or on a separate sheet, and you ask the doctor before signing.
  • Always ask for a copy of the signed form: it later becomes one of the key documents if a dispute arises about the outcome of treatment.

The medical decision recorded in the consent form is a matter for your treating doctor and you. Neither the coordinator nor the lawyer tells you whether to agree to treatment; they only check that you understand what you are signing.

The clinic contract and invoice: what the lawyer checks before you pay

Most disputes involving international patients are not about medical error but about money: what the price included, who pays if there is a complication and what is refunded if treatment is postponed. You should have the answers to these questions in writing before you travel. When you send us a clinic's quote or contract, an Advocat.Ge lawyer checks:

  • What the price includes. The operation, anaesthesia, implant or materials, bed-days, medicines, tests and follow-up visits should be listed separately, not covered by one general phrase.
  • What is not included. An extra bed-day, intensive care, a repeat intervention in case of complications, and how each of these is priced.
  • Currency and payment schedule. The size of the advance payment, the deadlines and how the exchange rate is calculated if the price is in one currency and payment in another.
  • Cancellation and postponement. What is refunded, and within what time, if treatment does not go ahead for medical reasons or a flight is cancelled.
  • Language and dispute rules. If the contract is bilingual, which version prevails, which country's law applies and where a dispute will be heard.

We confirm the payment methods with the clinic in advance and do not promise you any particular method: some cards do not work in Georgia; for example, banks registered in Georgia do not service Mir cards. After treatment, ask for a detailed, itemised invoice and compare it with the original quote. If there is a difference, the lawyer asks the clinic in writing to justify it before you pay any additional amount. Keep the invoice and receipts: you will need them for your insurance company and, in some countries, for tax relief.

Medical records and personal data

Your doctor at home will need the discharge summary, the operation report, the imaging reports and the images themselves. You ask the clinic for copies in writing, under Article 17 of the Law of Georgia on Patient Rights. The Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection sets a time limit of 10 working days for issuing a copy, which may be extended once, with reasons, by no more than 10 working days. The copy is free of charge unless the law sets a different fee or the clinic asks only for the reasonable cost of making the copy.

Health data are a special category of personal data. If the clinic sends your records directly to a foreign doctor, it needs a lawful basis for doing so, for example your written consent, which you give after the risks have been explained to you. Since 2 March 2026, data protection has been supervised by the State Audit Office, and complaints about breaches of confidentiality are also sent there.

If you need to use a document officially abroad, the Public Service Development Agency apostilles documents issued by medical facilities without a notary step. The order in which translation, apostille and dispatch take place is described on the page on preparing documents for home.

If something goes wrong: where does a dispute with a clinic begin?

An emotional conversation at the reception desk proves nothing later. A dispute starts with facts, documents and a letter, and the lawyer chooses the next step according to the type of problem.

  1. The facts and a copy of the records

    First we collect the complete medical record, the signed consent, the invoice and the correspondence. If you are still in Georgia, it is better to do this before you leave.

  2. A formal written claim to the clinic

    The lawyer drafts a letter to the clinic's management: what happened, which right it concerns and what you are asking for. The letter is delivered against a registration number, and we translate the reply for you.

  3. The doctor's professional liability

    Under the Law of Georgia on Medical Practice, a doctor's professional liability is considered by the Professional Development Council, and a patient's complaint is one of the grounds for a review. The outcome may be a warning, or suspension or revocation of the doctor's state certificate. This route does not compensate you for damage.

  4. Court

    Compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage is a matter for the courts. The lawyer assesses the prospects of a claim, the time limits and the expert evidence required at the very first consultation.

You can continue the case even after you return home: you authorise the lawyer to represent you by a power of attorney. A power of attorney issued abroad needs an apostille or consular legalisation to be used in Georgia, as explained on the page on remote powers of attorney. Similar disputes involving Georgian patients are covered by the medical disputes service.

Who does what: the coordinator and the lawyer

We divide the roles in advance, so that you know whom to go to with which question and who is responsible for the advice.

Task Solidaroba.ge Advocat.Ge
First conversation in your language Yes, with an interpreter if needed The lawyer joins when a legal assessment is needed
Collecting and translating documents Yes Points out which document is missing
Legal assessment and advice No Yes
Letters, formal claims, complaints Sends them and monitors deadlines Drafts and signs them
Representation before the Council and in court No Yes, under a power of attorney

The lawyer's fee and our coordination fee are two separate amounts, and both are agreed in writing before anything starts. You will find the full picture of how treatment is organised on the main page for international patients, and Georgian legal services in the legal consultation section.

Frequently asked questions about the rights of international patients

Does the Georgian law on patient rights apply to foreigners?

Yes. Under Article 9 of the Law of Georgia on Patient Rights, foreign nationals and stateless persons in Georgia have a guaranteed right to receive medical care in accordance with Georgia's international treaties and, where no such treaty exists, with Georgian legislation. In practice, this means that the rights to information, to consent, to copies of your records and to a second opinion apply to you too, as does the prohibition of discrimination. How to use these rights in a specific situation is something the lawyer will advise you on.

Do I have the right to an interpreter at a Georgian clinic?

The Law of Georgia on Patient Rights does not provide a separate right to an interpreter or to receive information in your native language. The law requires information to be given in a way the patient is able to understand, with as little specialist terminology as possible. At many clinics the staff speak English or Russian, but relying on that is a risk, especially when you sign consent forms and on the day of discharge. That is why we recommend booking an interpreter in advance; we fit the interpreter into the clinic's schedule, in person or by phone.

How do I get my medical records if I am already back home?

A request for copies of your records is made in writing, and you can send it from home. In the letter it is best to give your full name, passport number, treatment dates, exactly which documents you need and how you want to receive them. The clinic normally issues the copy within 10 working days; this period may be extended once, with reasons. If the clinic does not reply, the lawyer sends a second letter citing the law. With your permission, we can obtain the copy, translate it and, if needed, send it to you with an apostille.

Can I bring a dispute against a clinic if I am no longer in Georgia?

Yes, many steps can be taken without you travelling. You authorise the lawyer to represent you by a power of attorney, which you sign before a notary in your country and then have apostilled or legalised at a consulate, depending on whether your country is a party to the Apostille Convention. We prepare the Georgian translation of the power of attorney. The lawyer then writes to the clinic, drafts a complaint or files a claim in court. Your personal attendance may be needed to give evidence in court, which the lawyer will discuss with you in advance.

How much does a lawyer's help cost and whom do I pay?

There is no fixed price, because a one-off contract review and a court dispute lasting several months are entirely different amounts of work. Advocat.Ge tells you the lawyer's fee in writing after reviewing the case, and our coordination and translation fee is a separate line. No work begins until you have agreed to both amounts. If the case looks weak, the lawyer tells you so plainly before you incur any costs.

Rights on paper and in practice

Send us the contract or invoice, or describe what happened. We will tell you which lawyer will take on the case, what stages to expect and how the work is priced.

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A legal issue with a clinic? Advocat.Ge lawyers can help.

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