Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of 2026-10-02
Who holds the health record in the United Kingdom?
In 2026, the United Kingdom scores 59 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 27= of 198 countries (likely range 11 to 41), 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 clinician access at the point of care (60, against a median of 34 across 198 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is privacy and security (56, median 45).
In England, 39 million are registered on the NHS App and can opt out of the Summary Care Record, but not the Palantir-built data platform.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
59overall, of 100 · Mixed
27=rank of 198
Sharedwho holds the keys
highconfidence
90 · Platinumevidence grade (DTI)
Can I get my health records in the United Kingdom?
Access to the full record scores 66 of 100 in the United Kingdom, against a median of 43 across 198 countries. UK GDPR gives a free copy of the record within one month, and 39.1 million people are registered on the NHS App. But the app shows only new GP record entries, not historic or hospital records; a single patient record is promised from 2028.
Can I control who sees my health record in the United Kingdom?
Control and consent scores 52 of 100 in the United Kingdom, against a median of 30 across 198 countries. Patients can opt out of the national Summary Care Record, and staff must ask permission before viewing it outside emergencies. But there is no opt-out from the Palantir-built Federated Data Platform, and access logs are available only by formal request.
Eight rights, against Ireland, France, Germany and the EU
Patient access to the full record20%
66
55 · 70 · 64
Patient control and consent20%
52
30 · 68 · 66
Privacy and security15%
56
56 · 58 · 58
Connected care journey15%
62
38 · 72 · 66
Protection from commercial use10%
60
58 · 66 · 70
Clinician access at the point of care10%
60
36 · 62 · 62
Research and trial consent5%
64
70 · 60 · 50
Clinical AI governance5%
55
50 · 54 · 50
Black dot: United Kingdom. Hollow dots: Ireland, France, Germany (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: United Kingdom 59, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would the United Kingdom need to change to score higher?
The United Kingdom sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 198-country median, weighted, are research and trial consent (64, median 46) and clinical AI governance (55, median 30). The published rubric reads:
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.
Clinical AI governance: Device regulation of clinical AI with change control and human oversight in force, plus national rules where EU law leaves gaps.
Which laws give health record rights in the United Kingdom?
UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (2018): Health is special category data; free access copy, usually within one month; ICO enforcement.
Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (2025): Amends UK data protection, replaces the ICO with an Information Commission, sets binding health IT standards (s.121).
Health and Social Care Act 2012, s.261 (2012): NHS England may release collected data only for health care, social care or promotion of health.
Strain and split context, not scored
Doctors per 10,000
33.5 2023 · OECD 27 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
95.6 2023 · OECD 20 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
17.2% 2023 · OECD 25 of 35
Record reaches private care?
partial
"No independent prescribing organisations currently have ‘write access’ to patients’ NHS medical records – that is, the ability to enter information directly into a record."
Published stories
2025-12-16 · Information Commissioner's Office GP surgery sent 23 years of records to an insurer that asked for five
2025-03-27 · Information Commissioner's Office Regulator fines NHS software supplier after hackers took data on 79,404 people
In 2026, the United Kingdom scored 59 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 27= of 198 countries (likely range 11 to 41) (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/GBR/
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/GBR/#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.
