Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Portugal?
In 2026, Portugal scores 64 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is 10th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 3rd to 26th 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 control over who sees it (70 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 (48 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
Portugal's SNS 24 shows patients who opened their record and asks consent before clinicians look; a May 2026 credential theft tested both.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
64/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 3rd to 26th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 70 out of 100 in Portugal; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Portugal scored 88.1 on the EU 2025 record-access indicator against an EU average of 82.7, and SNS 24 shows prescriptions, lab results, vaccines and five years of care history. Lei 12/2005 gives a right to the whole record, but the portal is not the full chart. Source: data.consilium.europa.eu, June 18, 2025, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Portugal?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Portugal. Control over who sees it scores 70 out of 100 in Portugal; the typical country scores 30. Clinicians cannot open the national record without the patient's authorisation, set in SNS 24 or given at the visit, and patients can see every access. Lei 58/2019 requires that people be notified of any access to their health data. Source: Diário da República, August 8, 2019, and the other sources below.
How does Portugal compare?
In 2026, Portugal scores 64 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Austria (65 out of 100), Belgium (63 out of 100) and Germany (63 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Austria, Belgium, Germany, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
70
63 · 68 · 64
Control over who sees it20%
70
72 · 72 · 66
Privacy and security15%
56
63 · 54 · 58
One record across your care15%
68
68 · 68 · 66
Protection from sale and ads10%
62
66 · 54 · 70
Doctors see it when treating you10%
64
66 · 62 · 62
Your say over research use5%
48
49 · 49 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
50 · 50 · 50
Black dot: Portugal. Hollow dots: Austria, Belgium, Germany (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: Portugal 64 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 Portugal need to change to score higher?
Portugal 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 privacy and security (56 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country) and control over who sees it (70 out of 100, against 30 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.
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 Portugal?
Lei n.º 12/2005, informação genética pessoal e informação de saúde: Health data belongs to the person; right to the whole record; insurers barred from genetic data.
Lei n.º 58/2019, execução do RGPD: Applies GDPR; health data need to know, secrecy duty, and notice to people of every access.
Lei n.º 95/2019, Lei de Bases da Saúde: Health information is the person's property; SNS systems must interoperate.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
60.2 2023 · 2nd highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
80.1 2023 · 23rd highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
37.5% 2023 · 6th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"Data held only by private providers is often missing."
Real cases
July 29, 2026 · Comissão de Acesso aos Documentos Administrativos (CADA), Parecer 392/2026 Hospital admitted staff outside the care team opened a patient's record
July 29, 2026 · Comissão de Acesso aos Documentos Administrativos (CADA), Parecer 406/2026 Hospital demanded an ID card copy before releasing a patient's records to their lawyer
In 2026, Portugal scored 64 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, 10th of 198 countries and territories (could be 3rd to 26th), 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/portugal/
The 17 sources for Portugal
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)
“Portugal 2025 Digital Decade country report (Council of the EU, ST 10407/25 ADD 23)”
data.consilium.europa.eu (international body) · Title in English
Dated June 18, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Lei n.º 12/2005, informação genética pessoal e informação de saúde” [Law No. 12/2005, personal genetic information and health information] our machine translation
PGD Lisboa (law or regulation) · Title in Portuguese
Dated January 26, 2005 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you; Your say over research use
“Direito de acesso à informação de saúde e à proteção de dados pessoais” [Right of access to health information and to protection of personal data] our machine translation
ERS (regulator) · Title in Portuguese
Dated February 26, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Manual do Utilizador: acesso à Área do Profissional do RSE para médicos e enfermeiros” [User Manual: access to the RSE Professional Area for doctors and nurses] our machine translation
ACSS/SPMS (government guidance) · Title in Portuguese
Dated April 15, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“SNS 24: saiba quem teve acesso às suas informações e como gerir autorizações” [SNS 24: find out who has accessed your information and how to manage authorisations] our machine translation
Pplware (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated May 26, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“ULS do Alto Minho admite roubo de credenciais médicas para aceder a dados de utentes” [ULS do Alto Minho admits theft of medical credentials to access patient data] our machine translation
HealthNews (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated May 22, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Privacy and security
“Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados averigua acesso indevido a dados de saúde” [National Data Protection Commission investigates improper access to health data] our machine translation
ECO (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated May 26, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Hospital do Barreiro multado em 400 mil euros por não proteger dados clínicos dos doentes” [Barreiro Hospital fined 400 thousand euros for failing to protect patients' clinical data] our machine translation
Jornal de Negócios (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated October 18, 2018 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Lei n.º 75/2021, direito ao esquecimento no crédito e nos seguros” [Law No. 75/2021, right to be forgotten in credit and insurance] our machine translation
PGD Lisboa (law or regulation) · Title in Portuguese
Dated November 18, 2021 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Anacom escolhida pelo Governo para regular inteligência artificial em Portugal” [Anacom chosen by the Government to regulate artificial intelligence in Portugal] our machine translation
ECO (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated September 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/portugal/#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.
