Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Belgium?
In 2026, Belgium scores 63 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 11th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 5th to 30th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is control over who sees it (72 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (49 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
Belgian records are indexed unless patients object, providers need consent to open them, and patients can block named doctors and see who looked.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
63/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 5th to 30th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 68 out of 100 in Belgium; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The law gives a free first copy, paper or electronic, within 15 days, and the EU rates Belgian record access 100 out of 100. The federal portal shows linked documents, not one full record, and French speakers cannot see vaccines or test results in the app. Source: Justel, August 22, 2002, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Belgium?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Belgium. Control over who sees it scores 72 out of 100 in Belgium; the typical country scores 30. The national index lists where a patient's data sits unless the patient objects, but another provider may open it only with revocable consent. Patients can exclude named providers and see who consulted their data; exclusion works only name by name. Source: Justel, April 22, 2019, and the other sources below.
How does Belgium compare?
In 2026, Belgium scores 63 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Germany (63 out of 100), Italy (63 out of 100) and Turkey (63 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Germany, Italy, Turkey, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
68
64 · 68 · 74
Control over who sees it20%
72
66 · 72 · 62
Privacy and security15%
54
58 · 56 · 50
One record across your care15%
68
66 · 66 · 80
Protection from sale and ads10%
54
70 · 60 · 55
Doctors see it when treating you10%
62
62 · 50 · 64
Your say over research use5%
49
50 · 50 · 44
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
50 · 54 · 50
Black dot: Belgium. Hollow dots: Germany, Italy, Turkey (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Dashed teal line: the typical EU country. Overall: Belgium 63 out of 100, the typical EU country 61. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Belgium need to change to score higher?
Belgium sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are privacy and security (54 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country) and getting your full record (68 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Privacy and security: A health data regulator that is independent and actually acts: it decides cases about health records, breaches must be reported, and fines are applied.
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Which laws give health record rights in Belgium?
Loi du 22 août 2002 relative aux droits du patient: Right to a kept file, consultation within 15 days, free first copy on paper or electronically.
Loi du 22 avril 2019 relative à la qualité de la pratique des soins de santé: Access to others' records needs consent and a therapeutic link; emergency access; patients can see who accessed.
Loi du 30 juillet 2018 relative à la protection des données: Implements the GDPR; extra duties for health data: named access categories and confidentiality.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
33.9 2023 · 26th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
123 2022 · 12th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
26.3% 2023 · 13th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
December 18, 2025 · Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (Belgian Data Protection Authority), Litigation Chamber decision 209/2025 · archived copy Access list showed a therapist opened a patient's test results without a care reason
December 17, 2024 · Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (Belgian Data Protection Authority), Litigation Chamber decision 166/2024 · archived copy Ransomware hit a hospital whose patient record system had weak password protection
In 2026, Belgium scored 63 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 11th of 198 countries and territories (could be 5th to 30th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/belgium/
The 23 sources for Belgium
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Loi du 22 août 2002 relative aux droits du patient, version consolidée” [Law of 22 August 2002 on patient rights, consolidated version] our machine translation
Justel (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated August 22, 2002 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Masanté : consultez et gérez vos données de santé en ligne et via notre application mobile” [Masanté: view and manage your health data online and via our mobile app] our machine translation
INAMI (government guidance) · Title in French
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Abrumet soupçonne une volonté fédérale de centraliser les réseaux de santé” [Abrumet suspects a federal intention to centralise health networks] our machine translation
Le Spécialiste (news) · Title in French
Dated June 23, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Loi du 22 avril 2019 relative à la qualité de la pratique des soins de santé” [Law of 22 April 2019 on the quality of healthcare practice] our machine translation
Justel (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated April 22, 2019 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you
“Wet van 21 augustus 2008 houdende oprichting en organisatie van het eHealth-platform, gecoördineerde tekst” [Law of 21 August 2008 establishing and organising the eHealth platform, coordinated text] our machine translation
eHealth-platform (government guidance) · Title in Dutch
Dated December 6, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Loi du 30 juillet 2018 relative à la protection des personnes physiques à l'égard des traitements de données à caractère personnel” [Law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data] our machine translation
etaamb (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated July 30, 2018 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads
“Ook bij 3 andere Vlaamse ziekenhuizen lag toegang tot patiëntengegevens open voor hackers” [At 3 other Flemish hospitals too, access to patient data was open to hackers] our machine translation
VRT NWS (news) · Title in Dutch
Dated January 14, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“BIHR (Belgian Integrated Health Record) : un système d'information intégré pour des soins de qualité” [BIHR (Belgian Integrated Health Record): an integrated information system for quality care] our machine translation
INAMI (government guidance) · Title in French
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“E-gezondheid: het plan wordt al uitgevoerd zonder te wachten op de formele goedkeuring” [E-health: the plan is already being implemented without waiting for formal approval] our machine translation
Medi-Sfeer (news) · Title in Dutch
Dated June 4, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Wet van 14 maart 2023 houdende oprichting en organisatie van het Gezondheids(zorg)data-agentschap” [Law of 14 March 2023 establishing and organising the Health (Care) Data Agency] our machine translation
etaamb (law or regulation) · Title in Dutch
Dated March 14, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
“L'échange d'informations électroniques dans les soins de santé en Belgique” [Electronic information exchange in health care in Belgium] our machine translation
Frank Robben (other) · Title in French
Dated March 11, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Loi du 7 mai 2004 relative aux expérimentations sur la personne humaine” [Law of 7 May 2004 on experiments on the human person] our machine translation
Justel (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated May 7, 2004 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions 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™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. 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/belgium/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
