Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Saudi Arabia?
In 2026, Saudi Arabia scores 53 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is 46th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 30th to 57th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is one record across your care (70 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (46 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
A national record links over 30 million people and Sehhaty shows much of it, but patients have no working say over sharing.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
53/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 30th to 57th, allowing for scoring error
Low confidence. Thin evidence on 4 of the 8 rights: your copy, who sees it, joined-up record and doctors see it. The evidence grade rates all our sources together; confidence looks at each right. Neither changes the score.
Questions people ask
Can I see my health record in Saudi Arabia?
In 2026, getting your full record scores 64 out of 100 in Saudi Arabia; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The PDPL gives a right to a copy in a common electronic format within 30 days, and Sehhaty passed 31 million users in 2025. Source: SDAIA Data Governance Platform, and the other sources below.
In 2026, Saudi Arabia scores 53 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with United Arab Emirates (55 out of 100), Qatar (50 out of 100) and Bahrain (47 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
64
35 · 60 · 50
Control over who sees it20%
32
48 · 30 · 30
Privacy and security15%
50
50 · 54 · 56
One record across your care15%
70
80 · 57 · 50
Protection from sale and ads10%
54
56 · 52 · 50
Doctors see it when treating you10%
54
76 · 54 · 52
Your say over research use5%
46
46 · 50 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
58
64 · 40 · 50
Black dot: Saudi Arabia. Hollow dots: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Saudi Arabia 53 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Saudi Arabia need to change to score higher?
Saudi Arabia 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 control over who sees it (32 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and privacy and security (50 out of 100, against 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.
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 Saudi Arabia?
Personal Data Protection Law (Royal Decree M/19, amended by M/148) (2021): Health data is sensitive; access and copy rights; marketing ban for sensitive data; prison and fines.
Implementing Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law (2023): 30-day request deadline, electronic copies, 72-hour breach notice, extra health data controls.
IS0303 Saudi Health Information Exchange Policies (2015): Opt-out sharing model, disclosure reports, break-the-glass, ethics approval for research, bans market studies.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
34.1 2023
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
65.6 2023
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
14.1% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 6.1% of health spending (2023).
Real cases
September 18, 2026 · Al Watan (Saudi Arabia) Ministry penalised practitioners who filmed patients during care and posted the clips
November 10, 2024 · Okaz Health ministry refers practitioners who posted improper clips, including one with an inpatient
In 2026, Saudi Arabia scored 53 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, 46th of 198 countries and territories (could be 30th to 57th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/saudi-arabia/
The 16 sources for Saudi Arabia
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)
“Personal Data Protection Law, Royal Decree M/19 as amended by M/148”
SDAIA Data Governance Platform (law or regulation) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
Sehhaty platform, Ministry of Health (government guidance) · Title in English
Dated July 23, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Protection from sale and ads; 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/saudi-arabia/#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.
