Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Germany?
In 2026, Germany 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 (66 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 (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
About 73 million Germans have an opt-out ePA with an access log and blocking options, but only 5.1 million have the ID to open it.
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 64 out of 100 in Germany; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Since 6 February 2026 the BGB gives a free first copy of the complete treatment record, including electronic copies, and insurers have created about 73 million ePAs. Only 5.1 million people had the GesundheitsID needed to read theirs. Source: gesetze-im-internet.de, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Germany?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Germany. Control over who sees it scores 66 out of 100 in Germany; the typical country scores 30. Patients can object to the whole ePA, to single uses, or to named facilities, hide documents, change access periods and read an access log. Hiding is all-or-nothing: a document cannot be hidden from one practice only. Source: Gesetze im Internet (German Federal Ministry of Justice), and the other sources below.
How does Germany compare?
In 2026, Germany scores 63 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Belgium (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 Belgium, Italy, Turkey, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
64
68 · 68 · 74
Control over who sees it20%
66
72 · 72 · 62
Privacy and security15%
58
54 · 56 · 50
One record across your care15%
66
68 · 66 · 80
Protection from sale and ads10%
70
54 · 60 · 55
Doctors see it when treating you10%
62
62 · 50 · 64
Your say over research use5%
50
49 · 50 · 44
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
50 · 54 · 50
Black dot: Germany. Hollow dots: Belgium, 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: Germany 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 Germany need to change to score higher?
Germany 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 getting your full record (64 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and control over who sees it (66 out of 100, against 30 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.
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 Germany?
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 630g (as amended 2026): Right to inspect the complete treatment record, electronic copies, free first copy since 6 February 2026.
SGB V ePA provisions §§ 337-363 (Digital-Gesetz) (2025): Opt-out ePA created early 2025; objections per use or provider, access log, research opt-out.
Gesundheitsdatennutzungsgesetz (GDNG) (2024): Secrecy duty for research health data users; up to three years prison for misuse for gain.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
45.9 2023 · 7th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
124 2023 · 10th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
12.4% 2023 · 33rd highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 7.0% of health spending (2023).
"Für Vertragspraxen ist eine Institutionskarte für den Zugang zur Telematikinfrastruktur (TI) verpflichtend. Aber auch Praxen von Privatmedizinerinnen und Privatmedizinern - wie Privat(zahn)ärztinnen und Privat(zahn)ärzten oder Privatpsychotherapeutinnen und Privatpsychotherapeuten - können einen TI-Zugang erhalten."
Real cases
May 20, 2025 · Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI) · archived copy Practices answered online reviews by publishing patients' names and record details
May 20, 2025 · Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI) · archived copy Practice manager took patient files home where guests could read them
In 2026, Germany 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/germany/
The 27 sources for Germany
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)
“§ 630g BGB Einsichtnahme in die Behandlungsakte” [§ 630g BGB Inspection of the treatment record] our machine translation
gesetze-im-internet.de (law or regulation) · Title in German
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Ein Jahr ePA für alle: mehr als 100 Millionen hinterlegte Dokumente” [One year of ePA for all: more than 100 million stored documents] our machine translation
gematik (government guidance) · Title in German
Dated April 15, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“§ 353 SGB V Erklärung des Widerspruchs; Erteilung der Einwilligung” [§ 353 SGB V Declaration of objection; granting of consent] our machine translation
Gesetze im Internet (German Federal Ministry of Justice) (law or regulation) · Title in German
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“§ 342 SGB V Angebot und Nutzung der elektronischen Patientenakte” [§ 342 SGB V Provision and use of the electronic patient record] our machine translation
Gesetze im Internet (German Federal Ministry of Justice) (law or regulation) · Title in German
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Seit dem freiwilligen ePA-Start stagniert die Zahl der Widersprüche” [Since the voluntary ePA launch, the number of objections has stagnated] our machine translation
zm-online (news) · Title in German
Dated October 22, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Cyberangriff auf Abrechnungsdienstleister betrifft viele Kliniken” [Cyberattack on billing service provider affects many clinics] our machine translation
heise online (news) · Title in German
Dated May 22, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“39C3: Ein Jahr elektronische Patientenakte, hat sich die Lage verbessert?” [39C3: One year of the electronic patient record, has the situation improved?] our machine translation
heise online (news) · Title in German
Dated December 30, 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/germany/#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.
