Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Laos?
In 2026, Laos scores 29 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 166th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 133rd to 183rd 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 rules for AI in your care (35 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is getting your full record (25 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country).
Laos protects electronic data and patient confidentiality on paper, but patients cannot get their records and no shared health record exists.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
29/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 133rd to 183rd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 25 out of 100 in Laos; the typical country scores 40 to 45. No law gives patients a right to a copy of their medical record. The 2017 Electronic Data Protection Law lets people access their own electronic data, but most records are not electronic and there is no national portal. Source: National Assembly of Lao PDR, November 20, 2023, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Laos?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Laos. Control over who sees it scores 28 out of 100 in Laos; the typical country scores 30. The data law requires the owner's permission before personal data is used or passed on, unless another law says otherwise or a competent state body asks for it. We found no opt-out, no granular choices and no access log patients can see. Source: National Assembly of Lao PDR, May 12, 2017, and the other sources below.
How does Laos compare?
In 2026, Laos scores 29 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Timor-Leste (28 out of 100), Nepal (31 out of 100) and Sri Lanka (32 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Timor-Leste, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
25
30 · 28 · 30
Control over who sees it20%
28
28 · 30 · 25
Privacy and security15%
35
30 · 35 · 35
One record across your care15%
26
28 · 28 · 35
Protection from sale and ads10%
35
22 · 38 · 35
Doctors see it when treating you10%
20
20 · 25 · 30
Your say over research use5%
45
45 · 50 · 43
Rules for AI in your care5%
35
20 · 25 · 30
Black dot: Laos. Hollow dots: Timor-Leste, Nepal, Sri Lanka (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Laos 29 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Laos need to change to score higher?
Laos 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 (25 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and one record across your care (26 out of 100, against 38 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.
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Which laws give health record rights in Laos?
Law on Electronic Data Protection (No. 25/NA) (2017): Consent to use or share electronic personal data; access, correction and deletion rights; 15 million kip fine.
Law on Health Care (amended) (2023): Patient confidentiality, duty to inform patients, record systems in every facility. In force 9 January 2024.
Law on Public Health (2023): Ministry runs the electronic health information system; research needs ethics committee approval.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
3.8 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
13.6 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
44.8% 2020
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Laos scored 29 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 166th of 198 countries and territories (could be 133rd to 183rd), 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/laos/
The 12 sources for Laos
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 (3 sources)
“Law on Health Care (amended), 2023”
National Assembly of Lao PDR (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated November 20, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security; 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/laos/#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.
