Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Nicaragua?
In 2026, Nicaragua scores 32 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 151st of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 116th to 174th 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 (40 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is privacy and security (25 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Nicaragua's public clinics are moving to a digital record, but patients get only summaries, cannot opt out, and the data regulator was never created.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
32/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 116th to 174th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 35 out of 100 in Nicaragua; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Ley 787 gives a general right to see one's personal data within 10 working days, but the MINSA record norm allows copies only with the facility head's permission. Patients get a discharge summary (epicrisis) and, on written request, a clinical summary, with no national portal. Source: MINSA copy, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Nicaragua?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Nicaragua. Control over who sees it scores 25 out of 100 in Nicaragua; the typical country scores 30. Patients have no way to opt out of the MINSA record or see who opened it, and the record norm names the police, prosecutors, courts and MINSA as authorities that may request records. Access inside MINSA systems is set by staff role. Source: MINSA, June 2013, and the other sources below.
How does Nicaragua compare?
In 2026, Nicaragua scores 32 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Guatemala (32 out of 100), Saint Lucia (32 out of 100) and Antigua and Barbuda (33 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Guatemala, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
35
40 · 25 · 35
Control over who sees it20%
25
28 · 30 · 30
Privacy and security15%
25
30 · 38 · 42
One record across your care15%
34
30 · 35 · 28
Protection from sale and ads10%
35
35 · 35 · 42
Doctors see it when treating you10%
30
28 · 32 · 25
Your say over research use5%
46
46 · 46 · 43
Rules for AI in your care5%
40
22 · 20 · 20
Black dot: Nicaragua. Hollow dots: Guatemala, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Nicaragua 32 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Nicaragua need to change to score higher?
Nicaragua 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 privacy and security (25 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country) and getting your full record (35 out of 100, against 40 to 45 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.
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 Nicaragua?
Ley No. 423, Ley General de Salud (2002): Patient rights to information, record confidentiality, written consent, and consent before any experimentation.
Decreto 001-2003, Reglamento de la Ley General de Salud (texto consolidado) (2023): Facilities must keep the record confidential to authorised staff and hand over the discharge summary.
Ley No. 787, Ley de Proteccion de Datos Personales (2012): General data law; health data sensitive; access right; creates a Directorate that was never set up.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
9.1 2022
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
17.0 2022
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
38.6% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
June 4, 2026 · Divergentes Authorities publicly disclosed a young doctor's mental health details, experts say
April 22, 2026 · Divergentes Patient told her hospital file could not be found and had to repeat tests
In 2026, Nicaragua scored 32 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 151st of 198 countries and territories (could be 116th to 174th), 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/nicaragua/
The 14 sources for Nicaragua
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)
“Ley No. 423, Ley General de Salud, Articulos 8 y 9: Derechos y obligaciones del usuario” [Law No. 423, General Health Law, Articles 8 and 9: Rights and obligations of the user] our machine translation
MINSA copy (law or regulation) · Title in Spanish
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security; Your say over research use
“Normativa 004, Norma para el manejo del expediente clinico” [Regulation 004, Standard for the management of the clinical record] our machine translation
MINSA (government guidance) · Title in Spanish
Dated May 2008 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Normativa 004 Segunda Edicion, Norma y Manual para el manejo del expediente clinico, Acuerdo Ministerial 525-2013” [Regulation 004 Second Edition, Standard and Manual for the management of the clinical record, Ministerial Agreement 525-2013] our machine translation
MINSA (government guidance) · Title in Spanish
Dated June 2013 · 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
“Ministerio de Salud muestra los avances de la salud digital a los representantes de la cooperacion internacional” [Ministry of Health shows digital health progress to international cooperation representatives] our machine translation
OPS/OMS [PAHO/WHO] (international body) · Title in Spanish
Dated March 20, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“Salud digital y atencion primaria: avanzando hacia un sistema de salud mas conectado y eficiente” [Digital health and primary care: moving towards a more connected and efficient health system] our machine translation
OPS/OMS [PAHO/WHO] (international body) · Title in Spanish
Dated July 14, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“La estrategia de Salud Digital en Nicaragua esta cambiando las atenciones medicas” [The Digital Health strategy in Nicaragua is changing medical care] our machine translation
MINSA (government guidance) · Title in Spanish
Dated January 15, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“NTON 19001, Medicamentos de uso humano. Ensayos clinicos. Requisitos para su autorizacion (La Gaceta 225, Leybook copy)” [NTON 19001, Medicines for human use. Clinical trials. Requirements for their authorisation (La Gaceta 225, Leybook copy)] our machine translation
leybook.com (law or regulation) · Title in Spanish
Dated November 30, 2022 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“NTON 24001:2023 Tecnologia de la salud. Dispositivos medicos. Requisitos para el Registro Sanitario” [NTON 24001:2023 Health technology. Medical devices. Requirements for Sanitary Registration] our machine translation
MINSA (law or regulation) · Title in Spanish
Dated April 4, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Nicaragua fortalece su preparacion para la adopcion responsable de la inteligencia artificial en salud” [Nicaragua strengthens its preparedness for the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in health] our machine translation
OPS/OMS [PAHO/WHO] (international body) · Title in Spanish
Dated September 17, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Nicaragua y la OPS definen prioridades para la incorporacion de IA en el sistema de salud del pais” [Nicaragua and PAHO define priorities for the incorporation of AI into the country's health system] our machine translation
Salud Digital (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated September 18, 2026 · 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/nicaragua/#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.
