Even a top scorer reaches only 71 out of 100: Aino in Finland

Aino, an older woman with a silver bob and round glasses, sits in an armchair with her phone and a cup of coffee. Snow and small wooden houses show through the window.

1

Meet Aino

A made-up story built from real law, real cases and a published survey.

Meet Aino. She is in her sixties and lives in Finland.

You may have heard that Finland is the best at health records. Of the 198 countries and territories in our index, it is one of a lead group of five: Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary and Sweden. Allowing for scoring error, any of them could rank first.

So how many countries score 65 out of 100 or more? Guess first.

How many of the 198 countries and territories score 65 out of 100 or more?

25

Move the slider first.

050answer

The answer: 9 countries.

Overall score, 198 countries and territories. Black dot: Finland, 71 out of 100. Ringed: the rest of the lead group, Denmark (70/100), Estonia (68/100), Hungary (68/100) and Sweden (67/100). Allowing for scoring error, any of the 5 could rank first. Only 9 of the 198 countries and territories score 65 out of 100 or more. Hollow gray: countries we are less sure about (66 of the 198 countries and territories). In 90% of our simulations with other weights and scoring error, Finland ranked between 1st and 6th. The numbers 25, 45, 65 and 85 split scores into bands. Data as of October 2, 2026.

The details: Meet Aino

The score is out of 100. It adds up eight areas we score for every country, from getting your record to rules for AI in your care. Each area has a weight; getting your record and control over who sees it count most.

Any score can be off by about 5 points either way, so we show every rank with its range. In 90% of our simulations with different weights and scoring error, Finland ranked between 1st and 6th; it is one of the five countries that could rank first, and it came first in about 54% of them. Our rule: we call a country first on its own only if it comes first in at least 95% of simulations.

Sources: Health Record Rights Index, version 1.0 (SuperTruth, 2026), data as of October 2, 2026: every score with the laws and official pages behind it, on each country's page (for example Finland); how we scored; rank ranges: 10,000 simulations that allow for scoring error and weight choices, in the paper.

Aino sits at her kitchen table with her phone. A sheet of notes, a test tube, a pill bottle, a tooth, a syringe and an X-ray float toward the phone. One old folder stays off to the side.

2

Most of it, in one place

Aino logs in to OmaKanta, her own view of Kanta, Finland's national health record service. Notes from her health center and the hospital are there. So are dental notes, lab and X-ray results, vaccines and prescriptions.

All public care stores records there. So do every pharmacy and two in three private health firms.

About 6 in 10

people in Finland used OmaKanta in 2025: 3.3 million people, out of 5.65 million living there. So most people in Finland use this one service.

Kanta statistics; Statistics Finland

But not everything is there. Tap each card to see.

Filled square: in OmaKanta. Hollow square: not there, or not yet. Source: Kanta.fi; our Finland page.

The details: Most of it, in one place

What Kanta stores, in its own words (our translation follows): "terveyskeskuksessa ja sairaalassa tehdyt kirjaukset hoidosta, hammashoidosta tehdyt kirjaukset, laboratoriotutkimusten tiedot, kuvantamistutkimusten tiedot, rokotusten tiedot, lääkärintodistukset" (notes from health centers and hospitals, dental notes, lab results, imaging results, vaccinations, medical certificates). Kanta adds that not every provider stores everything yet, for example certificates.

Start date: "Terveydenhuolto on voinut kirjata tietoja Kantaan vuodesta 2013 alkaen." (Health care could record data in Kanta from 2013.) "Takautuvasti tietoja ei voi tallentaa Kantaan." (Data cannot be added to Kanta after the fact.)

Apps: "Kantaan ei ole vielä liitetty hyvinvointisovelluksia" (No wellbeing apps have been connected to Kanta yet; page updated January 29, 2026.)

Users: "Vuonna 2025 OmaKantaa käytti 3,3 miljoonaa henkilöä yhteensä 41,1 miljoonaa kertaa." (In 2025, 3.3 million people used OmaKanta, 41.1 million times in all: about a dozen visits each.) Kanta counts people, not logins. Its English page gives the same figures for 2024; we follow the Finnish page, updated June 10, 2026. Population: "Population of Finland on 31 Dec 5,652,881 ... 2025" (Statistics Finland, updated May 29, 2026). 3.3 million of 5,652,881 is 58%.

Sources: Kanta.fi, Kantaan tallentuvat tiedot näkyvät OmaKannassa, updated May 21, 2026; Kanta.fi, Tilastot, updated June 10, 2026; Kanta.fi, Statistics (English page); Kanta.fi, Kantaan liitetyt hyvinvointisovellukset, updated January 29, 2026; Statistics Finland, Population structure, updated May 29, 2026.

Aino holds a small garden gate open. A folder floats along a dotted path toward two small clinic buildings in the distance.

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Aino decides who else sees it

Each wellbeing county (the region that runs her public care) or private provider keeps what it writes. For another county or provider to see Aino's records, she gives a permit in OmaKanta. It's her choice, and she can take it back.

She can also say no for one visit, one provider's records, or all of them. She can even say no to use in an emergency.

On control (who decides where your record goes), Finland scores 74 out of 100, among the highest of the 198 countries and territories we rated.

Control over who sees it (20% of the overall score), 198 countries and territories. Black dot: Finland. Ringed: the others at the top score, Liechtenstein and Norway. Hollow gray: countries we are less sure about (66 of the 198 countries and territories). Data as of October 2, 2026.

The details: Aino decides who else sees it

Without a permit (our translation follows each quote): "Jos et anna luovutuslupaa, tietojasi voidaan käyttää ainoastaan sillä hyvinvointialueella tai siinä yksityisen terveydenhuollon organisaatiossa, jossa tietosi on alun perin kirjattu. Luvan antaminen on vapaaehtoista." (If you do not give a permit, your data can be used only in the wellbeing county or private provider where it was first recorded. Giving the permit is voluntary.)

Emergencies: "Kieltoja tehdessäsi voit kuitenkin erikseen määrittää, että tietojasi ei saa käyttää edes hätätilanteessa." (When you make refusals, you can also say that your data may not be used even in an emergency.) Without such a refusal, professionals may fetch her records in an emergency.

"Halutessasi voit perua tekemäsi kiellot milloin tahansa." (You can cancel your refusals at any time.) The rules are in the Client Data Act 703/2023, sections 54, 58 and 59.

Sources: Kanta.fi, Potilastietojen luvat ja kiellot, updated November 12, 2025; Finlex 703/2023.

Aino holds a magnifying glass up to a laptop showing three small building icons. Beside it, a frosted glass panel hides three blurred figures.

4

Who looked?

OmaKanta shows Aino which health centers, labs and pharmacies handled her data through Kanta.

It does not show the names of the staff who opened it. That protects the workers. To learn more, Aino has to ask each place.

She can see which other clinics fetched her record through Kanta. Not which person, and not who looked inside her own county.

The details: Who looked?

Kanta (our translation follows each quote): "OmaKannasta näet, mitkä terveydenhuollon yksiköt tai apteekit ovat käsitelleet resepti- tai terveystietojasi Kanta-palvelujen kautta." (In OmaKanta you can see which health care units or pharmacies have handled your prescription or health data through Kanta.) "Tietoja käsitelleiden henkilöiden nimet eivät näy OmaKannassa terveydenhuollon ammattilaisten yksityisyydensuojan takia." (The names of the people who handled the data are not shown in OmaKanta, to protect the privacy of health care professionals.) "Jos haluat tarkistaa tarkemmalla tasolla tietojesi käsittelyä, voit osoittaa tietopyynnön siihen organisaatioon, jossa tietojasi on käsitelty." (To check in more detail, you can send a request to the organization that handled your data.)

Our Finland file adds: Kela gives Kanta log data for the past two years, longer only for a special reason, and answers within two months.

Sources: Kanta.fi, Näin tarkistat, missä tietojasi on käsitelty, updated February 13, 2026; Our Finland page in the Health Record Rights Index, version 1.0 (SuperTruth, 2026), data as of October 2, 2026.

Aino and a nurse in pale blue scrubs hold one large key together in a bright health center room.

5

What Aino can't decide

Finland's model is shared. Aino and the people who treat her each hold part of the say.

The county or provider that wrote her notes can still use them to treat her, whatever she blocks. And in public care around Helsinki, in the Uusimaa region, records are shared without a permit once patients have been told. She can still say no there.

Strong control. Not full control. Try five quick questions.

What can Aino do? Tap yes or no.

1. Can Aino stop a private clinic from seeing her records from public care?

Yes. She can say no to sharing for one visit, for one provider's records, or for everything.

2. Can she stop her own health center from using the notes it wrote?

No. The place that wrote a record can still use it to treat her, whatever she blocks.

3. In OmaKanta, can she see the name of a nurse who opened her record?

No. OmaKanta shows places, not people. For more, she must ask that clinic.

4. Can she have her record deleted?

No. Kanta keeps records until 12 years after a person dies, and does not delete them on request.

5. If she spots a mistake, can she fix it in OmaKanta?

No. She asks the clinic that wrote it. Kanta says it cannot correct records itself.

Your answers stay on this page. We count only that the quiz was started and finished, and which result it gave, never your answers. Sharing sends what the law allows, never your answers.

The details: What Aino can't decide

Kanta (our translation follows each quote): "Kielloista huolimatta tietojasi voi käyttää se palvelunantaja, jonka luona tiedot on kirjattu." (Despite refusals, the provider where the data was recorded can use it.) "Lupaa tietojen luovuttamiseen ei tarvita, jos potilastietojasi käytetään julkisessa terveydenhuollossa Uudenmaan maakunnan alueella." (No permit is needed when your records are used in public health care in the Uusimaa region.) And: "Voit rajata tietojen käyttöä Uudellamaalla tekemällä kieltoja." (You can limit use in Uusimaa by making refusals.) Staff must be treating her and need the data for her care.

"Resepti- ja potilastietoja säilytetään 12 vuotta potilaan kuolemasta tai 120 vuotta potilaan syntymästä, jos kuolinajasta ei ole tietoa." (Prescription and patient data are kept for 12 years after the patient's death, or 120 years after birth if the date of death is unknown.) "Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollossa ja apteekeissa Kantaan tallennettuja tietoja ei poisteta asiakkaan pyynnöstä" (Data stored in Kanta is not deleted at the client's request.) "Kanta-palveluissa emme voi päivittää tai korjata tietoja OmaKannassa näkyviä virheellisiä tietoja." (Kanta cannot update or correct wrong data shown in OmaKanta.)

"Shared" is our label for who holds the keys: 51 of the 198 countries and territories we rated have it. None has the strictest model, where you hold the keys.

Sources: Kanta.fi, Potilastietojen luvat ja kiellot, updated November 12, 2025; Kanta.fi, Kantaan tallentuvat tiedot näkyvät OmaKannassa, updated May 21, 2026; Health Record Rights Index, version 1.0 (SuperTruth, 2026), data as of October 2, 2026: every score with the laws and official pages behind it, on each country's page (for example Finland); how we scored.

Aino sits in a small rowing boat looking at the small tip of an iceberg. Under the water, the much bigger part of the iceberg spreads out.

6

Below the waterline

Finland's overall score is 71 out of 100. Its three lowest areas are these. Rules for AI tools used in her care score 50 out of 100. Her say before her record is used in research scores 58 out of 100. Privacy and security, meaning how well records are protected and whether anyone is punished when they are not, scores 62 out of 100.

What that means: her records can be used for research without asking her first. She can object, but she has to ask each record holder separately. And the public bodies that hold most records can't be fined for data protection breaches.

Most people in Finland say they should decide for themselves.

86%

of people asked in a 2025 survey in Finland said people should have the right to decide for themselves who may use their health data.

Findata survey, November 2025, 2,014 people

Black dot: Finland. Gray tick: the typical country of 198 countries and territories; gray bar: the middle half. Bold: Finland's three lowest scores. Points short: each area's weight times its gap to 100. The two lowest scores count for 5% each, so the most points are lost on privacy and security and control over who sees it. Data as of October 2, 2026.

The details: Below the waterline

Research: Finland uses an opt-out. Findata says an objection to it does not reach every record holder, and Findata received 181 objections in 2025. In August 2026 it asked for one place to opt out, in OmaKanta.

Privacy: Data Protection Act 1050/2018, section 24, bars fines on state and municipal bodies, including the wellbeing counties. The government proposed fines for public bodies in April 2026. In a real case from March 2026, a county with weak checks against staff snooping got a reprimand, not a fine. And in June 2026 a court annulled a EUR 1.1 million fine on a pharmacy whose online shop had passed customer data to Google and Meta.

AI: Finland's AI supervision law (1377/2025) names who supervises. It adds no Finnish rules for AI in care. EU duties for AI in medical devices start August 2, 2028.

The survey: "86% of respondents believe that people should have the right to decide for themselves who may use their health data." "The survey was answered by 2,014 people living in Finland." Findata says the margin of error is about 2.5%.

Sources: Our Finland page in the Health Record Rights Index, version 1.0 (SuperTruth, 2026), data as of October 2, 2026 (Findata, Finlex 1050/2018 and 1377/2025, the data protection ombudsman, Valtioneuvosto); Findata press release, Survey: Finns support the use of health data in research, most want to decide on its use themselves, published September 30, 2026.

Aino, in a straw sun hat with a small yellow suitcase, stands at a pharmacy counter on a sunny street with an orange tree. The pharmacist hands her a small paper bag.

7

Aino goes to Spain

Aino spends a winter in Spain and needs more of her medicine. Her Finnish e-prescription works in 8 European countries, including some regions of Spain.

If she falls ill there, a doctor can get a summary of her key health data. Only a summary, and only if she said yes in OmaKanta first. That works with 5 countries so far. Her blocks at home don't travel: the summary includes data she blocked in Finland.

In other countries, she needs a paper prescription from her doctor before she goes.

8

countries take her Finnish e-prescription
Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Spain
In Czechia, Poland, Portugal and Spain, not every pharmacy or region takes it yet.

5

countries can get her health summary, if she says yes
Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain
In Spain, not yet in La Rioja or Extremadura.

Kanta.fi: prescriptions page updated March 6, 2026; summaries page updated July 10, 2026.

What EU law promises, and when

As of October 2026The EU exchange is voluntary. Each country joins when it is ready.
March 26, 2027The EU health data law (EHDS) starts to apply.
March 26, 2029Summaries and prescriptions must move between EU countries. People get the right to download a free copy.
March 26, 2031Images, test results and hospital discharge reports follow.

Regulation (EU) 2025/327, Article 105; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2083. Spaced in order, not to scale. Dates in a law, not a promise that every country is ready.

The details: Aino goes to Spain

Kanta, in English: "Your data may be used in health care services in other European countries if you consent to this in MyKanta." "Currently, patient data recorded in Finland can only be disclosed to healthcare providers in Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands, Latvia and Norway, but this feature will be expanded in phases to more European countries." Blocks at home: "Even if you have prohibited the disclosure of certain patient data and prescriptions between wellbeing services counties in Finland, these will be included in the Patient Summary." Doctors abroad do not see everything: "they will only receive a summary of your key health data." In Spain: "The Patient Summary is not yet in use in the regions of La Rioja and Extremadura."

Prescriptions: "Medicines can currently be purchased with a Finnish e-prescription in" Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Spain (page updated March 6, 2026). In Czechia and Portugal not every pharmacy takes them, in Poland about 90% do, and in Spain it depends on the region. Elsewhere: "If your destination country does not accept Finnish e-prescriptions, the person who issued the prescription can issue a paper prescription in English for purchases abroad."

EU law: the European Health Data Space regulation (EU) 2025/327 applies its rights to patient summaries and prescriptions "from 26 March 2029 to priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1), points (a), (b) and (c)", and to images, test results and discharge reports "from 26 March 2031 to priority categories of personal electronic health data referred to in Article 14(1), points (d), (e) and (f)". People "shall have the right to download free of charge an electronic copy of at least the personal electronic health data in the priority categories referred to in Article 14" (Article 3(2)). Until then, the EU says, "That infrastructure allowed Member States to exchange patient summaries, electronic prescriptions and electronic dispensations on a voluntary basis."

Norway is not in the EU, but takes part. Dates in a law are not proof that every country will be ready on the day.

Sources: Kanta.fi, Sending Patient Summaries abroad, updated July 10, 2026; Kanta.fi, Purchasing prescription medicines abroad, updated March 6, 2026; EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2025/327, Articles 3(2) and 105; EUR-Lex, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2083.

Aino waves by a calm lake with a small wooden pier and birch trees, holding her phone.

8

So, is Finland the answer?

Finland shows what one national record service can do. Aino can read most of her record, and she has a strong say in who else may see it.

But by our strict bar, none of the 198 countries and territories we rated puts you fully in charge. Finland is in our second-highest band, Strong (overall scores of 65 to 84 out of 100). No country reaches the top band, Leading (85 out of 100 or more).

Now look up your country. Then check our work, and tell us what we got wrong.

Pick a country

Finland scores 71 out of 100, in the Strong band. It is one of 5 countries that could rank first; allowing for error in our scoring, it could rank anywhere from 1st to 6th.

Open the one-page brief

Students: follow one score back to its source.
Researchers: the data (DOI) · the paper (DOI) · the paper on SSRN · the code
Reporters: the press kit, or press@supertruth.ai
Everyone: tell us what we got wrong · see every change we have made

The details: So, is Finland the answer?

Our strict bar for "you hold the keys": nothing goes into a state or provider system unless you say so, every share needs your OK first and you can take it back, and you can read a log of who looked (paper, section 2.3). Finland meets parts of it: Aino gives or refuses permits and can take them back, but the county or provider that wrote a record can use it whatever she blocks, and the log shows places, not people.

Sources: Health Record Rights Index, version 1.0 (SuperTruth, 2026), data as of October 2, 2026: every score with the laws and official pages behind it, on each country's page (for example Finland); how we scored; the paper (Snyder, Hill and Raney, 2026), section 2.3.