Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of 2026-10-01
Who holds the health record in Iceland?
In 2026, Iceland scores 62 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 16= of 198 countries (likely range 5 to 32), in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-01.
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 (74, against a median of 34 across 198 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is research and trial consent (50, median 46).
Iceland's records are linked across nearly all public care and patients can block sharing, but the Heilsuvera portal shows only part of the record.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-01 · research tool, not legal advice
62overall, of 100 · Mixed
16=rank of 198
Sharedwho holds the keys
mediumconfidence
90 · Platinumevidence grade (DTI)
Can I get my health records in Iceland?
Access to the full record scores 62 of 100 in Iceland, against a median of 43 across 198 countries. The Medical Records Act gives a right to a copy of the whole record, clarified by a 2025 amendment. Heilsuvera shows prescriptions, vaccinations and dates of hospital and clinic visits, but not clinical notes or lab results.
Can I control who sees my health record in Iceland?
Control and consent scores 55 of 100 in Iceland, against a median of 30 across 198 countries. Patients can ban sharing through linked record systems, for a whole provider, a department or a named party, and have a legal right to learn who looked at their record. Bans need a signed form, and the access log comes on request only.
Eight rights, against Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium and the EU
Patient access to the full record20%
62
64 · 66 · 68
Patient control and consent20%
55
62 · 60 · 72
Privacy and security15%
62
58 · 62 · 54
Connected care journey15%
76
70 · 66 · 68
Protection from commercial use10%
58
55 · 60 · 54
Clinician access at the point of care10%
74
66 · 68 · 62
Research and trial consent5%
50
50 · 45 · 49
Clinical AI governance5%
50
50 · 50 · 50
Black dot: Iceland. Hollow dots: Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Iceland 62, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would Iceland need to change to score higher?
Iceland 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 (50, median 46) and clinical AI governance (50, 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 Iceland?
Medical Records Act (lög um sjúkraskrár) no. 55/2009 (2009): Right to a copy, who-accessed information, bans on linked sharing, research storage ban, penalties.
Act no. 81/2025 amending the Medical Records Act (2025): Clarifies right to copies, sets copy fees and appeals, requires digital records by 1 December 2026.
Act no. 34/2025 on health registries and quality registries (2025): Sets Directorate of Health registries and quality registries; de-identified data for research and planning.
Strain and split context, not scored
Doctors per 10,000
45.8 2024 · OECD 8 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
161 2024 · OECD 2 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
partial
"Some private providers still keep non-digital records until a December 2026 deadline."
Published stories
2026-05-12 · Persónuvernd (Icelandic Data Protection Authority) Specialist doctor's repeated look-ups in a patient's record ruled unlawful
2025-11-17 · Persónuvernd (Icelandic Data Protection Authority) National hospital sent a patient's health data to the wrong primary care clinic
In 2026, Iceland scored 62 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 16= of 198 countries (likely range 5 to 32) (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-01, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/ISL/
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/ISL/#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.
