Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Panama?
In 2026, Panama scores 44 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 76th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 55th to 98th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is doctors see it when treating you (45 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is control over who sees it (32 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country).
Panama's laws give patients free, fast access to their data, but records stay split between the Health Ministry, the Social Security Fund and private providers.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
44/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 55th to 98th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 50 out of 100 in Panama; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Ley 68 gives patients the right to know all information about their health, and Ley 81 makes data requests free with a 10 business day deadline. There is no national portal; the Social Security Fund shows only 12 months of lab results online. Source: Hospital Santo Tomas, November 25, 2003, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Panama?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Panama. Control over who sees it scores 32 out of 100 in Panama; the typical country scores 30. Ley 68 says nobody may see a person's health data without authorisation unless the law allows it, but the same law opens the record to every clinician treating the patient at that centre. No opt-out from record sharing and no patient-visible access log was found. Source: Hospital Santo Tomas, November 25, 2003, and the other sources below.
How does Panama compare?
In 2026, Panama scores 44 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Colombia (43 out of 100), Ecuador (43 out of 100) and Peru (45 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
50
45 · 50 · 45
Control over who sees it20%
32
27 · 30 · 44
Privacy and security15%
48
50 · 45 · 50
One record across your care15%
45
50 · 40 · 35
Protection from sale and ads10%
52
50 · 52 · 55
Doctors see it when treating you10%
45
50 · 40 · 34
Your say over research use5%
49
45 · 49 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
35
35 · 45 · 56
Black dot: Panama. Hollow dots: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Panama 44 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Panama need to change to score higher?
Panama sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. 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 (32 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (50 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 Panama?
Ley 68 de 2003 (derechos y obligaciones de los pacientes): Right to health information, confidentiality, informed consent, clinical record rules and logging of record access.
Ley 81 de 2019 (proteccion de datos personales): Health data sensitive; express consent; access within 10 business days; ANTAI fines B/.1,000 to 10,000.
Decreto Ejecutivo 285 de 2021 (reglamento de la Ley 81): Free exercise of data rights, easy consent withdrawal, breach notice within 72 hours.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
16.3 2022
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
33.5 2022
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
47.3% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
April 17, 2026 · La Estrella de Panamá Newspaper finds insured people's medical histories and signatures posted online after a hack
May 6, 2026 · La Estrella de Panamá State digital agency admits security gaps as leaked medical histories circulate
Who to contact in Panama
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Panama, we list 2 official offices to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record: ask the records office of your doctor, hospital or clinic
Privacy regulator:Autoridad Nacional de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información (National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information)
Patient rights body:Defensoría del Pueblo de Panamá (Ombudsman's Office of Panama)
In 2026, Panama scored 44 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 76th of 198 countries and territories (could be 55th to 98th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/panama/
The 19 sources for Panama
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 68 de 2003, derechos y obligaciones de los pacientes” [Law 68 of 2003, rights and obligations of patients] our machine translation
Hospital Santo Tomas (law or regulation) · Title in Spanish
Dated November 25, 2003 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you
“Mi Caja Digital: asegurados podran ver resultados de laboratorio en linea” [Mi Caja Digital: insured persons will be able to view laboratory results online] our machine translation
TVN (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated March 24, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Caja de Seguro Social desmiente hackeo y denuncia campana de desinformacion” [Social Security Fund denies hack and denounces disinformation campaign] our machine translation
TVN (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated July 8, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Expediente electronico SEIS y digitalizacion de sistemas de salud” [SEIS electronic record and digitalization of health systems] our machine translation
Ministerio de Salud [Ministry of Health] (government guidance) · Title in Spanish
Dated January 18, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“El plan de integracion Minsa-CSS en atencion esta trazado y tomara dos anos” [The Minsa-CSS care integration plan is mapped out and will take two years] our machine translation
La Prensa (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated December 16, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“CSS: Nuevo Expediente Clinico Electronico busca agilizar citas” [CSS: New Electronic Clinical Record seeks to speed up appointments] our machine translation
Telemetro (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated June 17, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Integracion entre la Caja de Seguro y el Minsa: expediente clinico unico” [Integration between the Social Security Fund and Minsa: single clinical record] our machine translation
TVN (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated June 3, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Aspectos regulatorios de la recoleccion y uso de muestras y datos” [Regulatory aspects of the collection and use of samples and data] our machine translation
CNBI (government guidance) · Title in Spanish
Dated September 27, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Panama avanza en ruta de implementacion de la Estrategia Nacional de IA” [Panama advances on the path to implementing the National AI Strategy] our machine translation
La Web de la Salud (news) · Title in Spanish
Dated September 22, 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/panama/#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.
