Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of 2026-10-02
Who holds the health record in the United Arab Emirates?
In 2026, the United Arab Emirates scores 55 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 40= of 198 countries (likely range 23 to 54), in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02.
The person has real controls inside a state or provider system. Its strongest right against the other countries is connected care journey (80, against a median of 38 across 198 countries); its weakest is patient access to the full record (35, median 43).
Each emirate runs its own shared record with near-universal reach, but patient copy rights and opt-outs come from emirate regulators, not federal law.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
55overall, of 100 · Mixed
40=rank of 198
Sharedwho holds the keys
lowconfidence
83 · Goldevidence grade (DTI)
Low confidence. Weak evidence in 4 of 8 categories: access, control, journey and commercial. The evidence grade rates all our sources together; confidence looks at each category. Neither changes the score.
Can I get my health records in the United Arab Emirates?
Access to the full record scores 35 of 100 in the United Arab Emirates, against a median of 43 across 198 countries. No federal law gives patients a right to a copy of their record; the right sits in Abu Dhabi and Dubai regulator standards. Three government portals show part of the record by region, which lifts the cell to the top of its band (35) and no further.
Can I control who sees my health record in the United Arab Emirates?
Control and consent scores 48 of 100 in the United Arab Emirates, against a median of 30 across 198 countries. Each emirate has a different rule: Riayati lets Northern Emirates patients opt out and promises access notices, Dubai's NABIDH takes opt-outs by signed form, and Abu Dhabi's Malaffi makes participation universal. The blend sits mid-band at 48.
Eight rights, against Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel and the EU
Patient access to the full record20%
35
64 · 60 · 66
Patient control and consent20%
48
32 · 30 · 50
Privacy and security15%
50
50 · 54 · 58
Connected care journey15%
80
70 · 57 · 78
Protection from commercial use10%
56
54 · 52 · 56
Clinician access at the point of care10%
76
54 · 54 · 75
Research and trial consent5%
46
46 · 50 · 49
Clinical AI governance5%
64
58 · 40 · 50
Black dot: United Arab Emirates. Hollow dots: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: United Arab Emirates 55, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would the United Arab Emirates need to change to score higher?
The United Arab Emirates sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 198-country median, weighted, are patient access to the full record (35, median 43) and research and trial consent (46, median 46). The published rubric reads:
Patient access to the full record: A national portal showing at least part of the record (summary, prescriptions, labs) to most residents puts access at 60 to 75; a near-full record with export, long history and majority use, 76 to 90.
Research and trial consent: A general opt-out that is honoured, or dynamic or opt-in consent, with a public register of research uses: 55 to 85.
Which laws give health record rights in the United Arab Emirates?
Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the Use of ICT in Health Fields (2019): Confidentiality, central exchange, 25-year retention, health data kept in the UAE, fines and licence sanctions.
Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (2021): General privacy law; excludes health data with its own law and government entities.
Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024 on Medical Products (2024): Regulates medical devices including AI-based products; design changes need new approval.
Strain and split context, not scored
Doctors per 10,000
29.9 2023
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
61.6 2023
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
13.1% 2023
Record reaches private care?
connected
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 16.5% of health spending (2023).
"Abu Dhabi’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform, Malaffi, has announced that all public and private hospitals in the Emirate are now connected to the platform."
Published stories
2025-05-09 · Emarat Al Youm Regulator closes four clinics that wrote visits that never happened into medical files
2026-03-27 · Emarat Al Youm Regulator shuts five health facilities after finding manipulated medical data
In 2026, the United Arab Emirates scored 55 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 40= of 198 countries (likely range 23 to 54) (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/ARE/
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI: SuperTruth's Data Trust Index, grading the evidence behind each score. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/ARE/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Text and scores CC BY 4.0.
