Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Bhutan?
In 2026, Bhutan scores 40 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 97th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 71st to 123rd allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is one record across your care (58 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). The furthest behind is getting your full record (33 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country).
Bhutan runs one national electronic record across 300 health facilities, but patients have no statutory right to a copy and no data protection regulator.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
40/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 71st to 123rd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 33 out of 100 in Bhutan; the typical country scores 40 to 45. No statute gives patients a right to a copy of their record; the right rests on a 2022 ministry manual, and copies are at the patient's expense. Source: Ministry of Health, 2022, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Bhutan?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Bhutan. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in Bhutan; the typical country scores 30. Records sit in one government system with no opt-out and no patient-visible access log that we could find. Rules require written consent before release outside care, and the 2025 healthcare rules make unauthorised disclosure an offence. Source: Ministry of Health, March 12, 2025, and the other sources below.
How does Bhutan compare?
In 2026, Bhutan scores 40 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Philippines (39 out of 100), Bangladesh (38 out of 100) and Maldives (38 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Philippines, Bangladesh, Maldives and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
33
40 · 35 · 45
Control over who sees it20%
30
40 · 42 · 30
Privacy and security15%
38
45 · 42 · 40
One record across your care15%
58
32 · 33 · 40
Protection from sale and ads10%
38
45 · 35 · 38
Doctors see it when treating you10%
50
27 · 28 · 28
Your say over research use5%
49
46 · 46 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
40
42 · 50 · 28
Black dot: Bhutan. Hollow dots: Philippines, Bangladesh, Maldives (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Bhutan 40 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Bhutan need to change to score higher?
Bhutan sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (33 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and privacy and security (38 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
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.
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.
Which laws give health record rights in Bhutan?
Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan (2008): Article 7(19) protects privacy; Article 9(21) promises free access to basic public health services.
Information, Communications and Media Act of Bhutan (2018): Medical records are sensitive data; written permission needed to collect or disclose; compensation and misdemeanour penalties.
Healthcare Services Rules and Regulations 2025: Allows a mandatory central health record system; makes unconsented disclosure of patient information an offence.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
5.5 2022
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
20.5 2022
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
25.6% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
Who to contact in Bhutan
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Bhutan, we list one official office to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record: ask the records office of your doctor, hospital or clinic
Health ministry:གསོ་བ་ལྷན་ཁག། (Ministry of Health)
In 2026, Bhutan scored 40 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 97th of 198 countries and territories (could be 71st to 123rd), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/bhutan/
The 17 sources for Bhutan
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)
“Bhutan Medical Record Manual and Standard Operating Procedures”
Ministry of Health (government guidance) · Title in English
Dated 2022 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you; Your say over research use
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/bhutan/#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.
