Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Samoa?
In 2026, Samoa scores 30 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 162nd of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 122nd to 180th 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 doctors see it when treating you (48 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). The furthest behind is protection from sale and ads (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Samoa now runs one Ministry electronic record across its main and district hospitals, but has no data protection law and no patient controls.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
30/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 122nd to 180th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 25 out of 100 in Samoa; the typical country scores 40 to 45. A 2015 Ministry of Health policy lists a patient right to access health information and to receive a medical report on request, but no law gives that right. There is no patient portal, and no deadline or fee rule was found. Source: Ministry of Health Samoa, 2015, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Samoa?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Samoa. Control over who sees it scores 25 out of 100 in Samoa; the typical country scores 30. The Ministry's eHealth policy proposes that the Ministry be the authority granting access to health data, and a patient consent law it called for in 2017 was never found. Records are shared inside one central system with no opt-out or patient-visible access log. Source: Ministry of Health Samoa, 2017, and the other sources below.
How does Samoa compare?
In 2026, Samoa scores 30 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Fiji (29 out of 100), Kiribati (29 out of 100) and Palau (33 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Fiji, Kiribati, Palau and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
25
35 · 30 · 35
Control over who sees it20%
25
28 · 28 · 30
Privacy and security15%
25
30 · 32 · 32
One record across your care15%
45
30 · 28 · 38
Protection from sale and ads10%
20
20 · 25 · 18
Doctors see it when treating you10%
48
25 · 27 · 40
Your say over research use5%
43
43 · 43 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
18
18 · 20 · 20
Black dot: Samoa. Hollow dots: Fiji, Kiribati, Palau (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Samoa 30 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Samoa need to change to score higher?
Samoa 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 privacy and security (25 out of 100, against 45 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.
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.
Which laws give health record rights in Samoa?
Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa, Part II (1962): Fundamental rights in Articles 5 to 15; no right to privacy or to information.
Telecommunications Act 2005, sections 48 to 51: Telecom providers must protect customer information and not use it for undisclosed purposes; government access allowed.
Ministry of Health Act 2006: Sets Ministry functions, including health information, research and consumer complaint systems; no patient data rights.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
5.6 2021
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
30.6 2020
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
13.7% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Samoa scored 30 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 162nd of 198 countries and territories (could be 122nd to 180th), 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/samoa/
The 15 sources for Samoa
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 (2 sources)
“Patient Complaint and Grievance Policy 2015”
Ministry of Health Samoa (government guidance) · Title in English
Dated 2015 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it
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/samoa/#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.
