Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Iceland?
In 2026, Iceland scores 62 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 16th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 5th to 32nd 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 1, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is doctors see it when treating you (74 out of 100, against 33 to 34 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).
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 October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
62/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 5th to 32nd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 62 out of 100 in Iceland; the typical country scores 40 to 45. 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. Source: Alþingi, September 1, 2026, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Iceland?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Iceland. Control over who sees it scores 55 out of 100 in Iceland; the typical country scores 30. 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. Source: Alþingi, September 1, 2026, and the other sources below.
How does Iceland compare?
In 2026, Iceland scores 62 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Latvia (62 out of 100), Slovenia (62 out of 100) and Belgium (63 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
62
64 · 66 · 68
Control over who sees it20%
55
62 · 60 · 72
Privacy and security15%
62
58 · 62 · 54
One record across your care15%
76
70 · 66 · 68
Protection from sale and ads10%
58
55 · 60 · 54
Doctors see it when treating you10%
74
66 · 68 · 62
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 45 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
50 · 50 · 50
Black dot: Iceland. Hollow dots: Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium (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: Iceland 62 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 Iceland need to change to score higher?
Iceland 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 control over who sees it (55 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (62 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
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.
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 Iceland?
Medical Records Act (lög um sjúkraskrár) no. 55/2009: Right to a copy, who-accessed information, bans on linked sharing, research storage ban, penalties.
Act no. 81/2025 amending the Medical Records Act: 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: Sets Directorate of Health registries and quality registries; de-identified data for research and planning.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
45.8 2024 · 8th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
161 2024 · 2nd highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
partly
"Some private providers still keep non-digital records until a December 2026 deadline."
Real cases
May 12, 2026 · Persónuvernd (Icelandic Data Protection Authority) Specialist doctor's repeated look-ups in a patient's record ruled unlawful
November 17, 2025 · Persónuvernd (Icelandic Data Protection Authority) National hospital sent a patient's health data to the wrong primary care clinic
In 2026, Iceland scored 62 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 16th of 198 countries and territories (could be 5th to 32nd), 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 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/iceland/
The 16 sources for Iceland
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)
“Lög um sjúkraskrár nr. 55/2009” [Act on Medical Records No. 55/2009] our machine translation
Alþingi (law or regulation) · Title in Icelandic
Dated September 1, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you
“Lög um persónuvernd og vinnslu persónuupplýsinga nr. 90/2018” [Act on Data Protection and the Processing of Personal Data No. 90/2018] our machine translation
Alþingi (law or regulation) · Title in Icelandic
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Lög nr. 34/2025 um breytingu á lögum um landlækni og lýðheilsu og lögum um sjúkraskrár” [Act No. 34/2025 amending the Act on the Directorate of Health and Public Health and the Act on Medical Records] our machine translation
althingi.is (law or regulation) · Title in Icelandic
Dated June 19, 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/iceland/#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.
