Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Finland?
In 2026, Finland scores 71 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is one of five countries that lead the 198 countries and territories we rated, in the Strong band (65 to 84). 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 (74 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 (58 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
Finns read a national record in OmaKanta and decide by permit who outside their region sees it, but public bodies cannot yet be fined.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Strong band, 65 to 84
71/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 1st to 6th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 76 out of 100 in Finland; the typical country scores 40 to 45. OmaKanta shows visit notes, lab and imaging results, vaccinations and prescriptions from public and private care, and 3.3 million people used it in 2025. Records start only when a provider joined Kanta (from 2013), and no app can yet download them. Source: Kanta.fi, May 21, 2026, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Finland?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Finland. Control over who sees it scores 74 out of 100 in Finland; the typical country scores 30. Records leave the region or provider where they were written only if the patient gives a revocable permit, which can be narrowed by visit, register or all data, even in emergencies. OmaKanta shows which units fetched data, but staff names need a log request. Source: Finlex, April 14, 2023, and the other sources below.
How does Finland compare?
In 2026, Finland scores 71 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Denmark (70 out of 100), Estonia (68 out of 100) and Hungary (68 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
76
78 · 80 · 72
Control over who sees it20%
74
70 · 68 · 72
Privacy and security15%
62
62 · 55 · 62
One record across your care15%
82
82 · 80 · 78
Protection from sale and ads10%
68
58 · 58 · 55
Doctors see it when treating you10%
76
78 · 75 · 76
Your say over research use5%
58
49 · 50 · 47
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
50 · 50 · 54
Black dot: Finland. Hollow dots: Denmark, Estonia, Hungary (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: Finland 71 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 Finland need to change to score higher?
Finland sits in Strong (65 to 84); Leading starts at 85. 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 (62 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country) and control over who sees it (74 out of 100, against 30 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.
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Which laws give health record rights in Finland?
Act on the Processing of Client Data in Healthcare and Social Welfare (703/2023): Runs Kanta and OmaKanta: disclosure permits, targeted denials, emergency access and logging.
Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data (552/2019), amended by 1159/2025: Permit-based secondary use with GDPR opt-out; bans marketing and insurance pricing uses.
Data Protection Act (1050/2018): Supplements GDPR; section 24 bars administrative fines on state and municipal bodies.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
28.8 2023 · 30th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
130 2023 · 8th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
16.2% 2023 · 27th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"All public health care, all pharmacies and two thirds of private health firms use Kanta"
Real cases
February 10, 2025 · Tietosuojavaltuutettu (Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman), decision TSV/1507/2024 · archived copy Provider said its system could not show who opened a patient's record and when
July 13, 2026 · Yle · archived copy Sentence final for hacker who published about 33,000 people's patient records
In 2026, Finland scored 71 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, one of five countries that lead the 198 countries and territories we rated, in the Strong 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/finland/
The 24 sources for Finland
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)
“Kantaan tallentuvat tiedot näkyvät OmaKannassa” [Data stored in Kanta is visible in MyKanta (OmaKanta)] our machine translation
Kanta.fi (government guidance) · Title in Finnish
Dated May 21, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Laki sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon asiakastietojen käsittelystä 703/2023” [Act on the Processing of Client Data in Social and Health Care 703/2023] our machine translation
Finlex (law or regulation) · Title in Finnish
Dated April 14, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you
“Tietosuojarikkomuksista määrättävät seuraamusmaksut koskemaan myös julkista sektoria” [Administrative fines imposed for data protection violations to apply also to the public sector] our machine translation
Valtioneuvosto [Finnish Government] (government guidance) · Title in Finnish
Dated April 9, 2026 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (blocked by the site's bot protection)
“Apulaistietosuojavaltuutettu: hyvinvointialueella puutteita potilastietojen käytön valvonnassa” [Deputy Data Protection Ombudsman: wellbeing services county has shortcomings in monitoring the use of patient data] our machine translation
Tietosuojavaltuutetun toimisto [Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman] (regulator) · Title in Finnish
Dated March 4, 2026 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (blocked by the site's bot protection)
“Hallinto-oikeudelta päätös Yliopiston Apteekille määrätystä seuraamusmaksusta” [Administrative court decision on the administrative fine imposed on Yliopiston Apteekki] our machine translation
Tietosuojavaltuutetun toimisto [Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman] (regulator) · Title in Finnish
Dated June 2, 2026 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (blocked by the site's bot protection)
Used for: Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads
“Kova tuomio vie Vastaamo-hakkeri Aleksanteri Kivimäen takaisin vankilaan” [Harsh sentence sends Vastaamo hacker Aleksanteri Kivimäki back to prison] our machine translation
Yle (news) · Title in Finnish
Dated February 26, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Informationsgången är kärnan i reformen av apoteksverksamheten” [The flow of information is the core of the reform of pharmacy operations] our machine translation
Valtioneuvosto [Finnish Government] (government guidance) · Title in Swedish
Dated February 13, 2026 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (blocked by the site's bot protection)
“Laki eräiden tekoälyjärjestelmien valvonnasta 1377/2025” [Act on the Supervision of Certain Artificial Intelligence Systems 1377/2025] our machine translation
Finlex (law or regulation) · Title in Finnish
Dated 2025 · 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/finland/#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.
