Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Switzerland?
In 2026, Switzerland scores 54 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 44th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 28th to 57th 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 2, 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 (60 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is one record across your care (40 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country).
Swiss patients have a free right to their whole record, but the optional e-dossier reached only 136,076 people, so Parliament is building an opt-out replacement.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
54/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 28th to 57th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 55 out of 100 in Switzerland; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The data protection act gives a free copy of the whole record, normally within 30 days, and an official national portal exists. Most people still ask each doctor or hospital, because the portal (the e-dossier, EPD) is optional: only 136,076 were open by end of April 2026. Source: Fedlex (Swiss Confederation), July 7, 2025, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Switzerland?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Switzerland. Control over who sees it scores 60 out of 100 in Switzerland; the typical country scores 30. Inside the EPD the patient opens it by explicit consent, picks which professionals see what, can block named providers and reads an access log. Few people hold one, so for most patients control rests on doctors' professional secrecy. Source: Fedlex (Swiss Confederation), October 1, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does Switzerland compare?
In 2026, Switzerland scores 54 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Cyprus (55 out of 100), San Marino (55 out of 100) and Serbia (55 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Cyprus, San Marino, Serbia, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
55
64 · 70 · 62
Control over who sees it20%
60
46 · 55 · 60
Privacy and security15%
60
58 · 52 · 46
One record across your care15%
40
58 · 56 · 64
Protection from sale and ads10%
58
54 · 50 · 46
Doctors see it when treating you10%
38
55 · 48 · 55
Your say over research use5%
66
45 · 46 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
56
50 · 40 · 40
Black dot: Switzerland. Hollow dots: Cyprus, San Marino, Serbia (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: Switzerland 54 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 Switzerland need to change to score higher?
Switzerland 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 one record across your care (40 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and getting your full record (55 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
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 Switzerland?
Bundesgesetz über den Datenschutz (DSG) (2020): In force 1 Sept 2023. Health is sensitive data; free access within 30 days; breach reports; fines to CHF 250,000.
Bundesgesetz über das elektronische Patientendossier (EPDG) (2015): Opt-in EPD; patient sets access rights, can exclude providers; all access logged; emergency access unless excluded.
Bundesgesetz über das elektronische Gesundheitsdossier (EGDG), bill (2025): Opt-out E-GD for every resident, central federal system, mandatory outpatient use. Passed National Council September 2026.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
45.6 2023 · 9th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
192 2023 · 1st highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
28.7% 2023 · 9th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 41.6% of health spending (2023).
"Für alle anderen ambulant tätigen Gesundheitsfachpersonen sowie für Patientinnen und Patienten ist die Eröffnung des EPD freiwillig."
Real cases
July 6, 2026 · Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht), 6B_310/2025 Practitioner rebuilt a patient file after the fact, leaving out treatments; conviction upheld
September 9, 2025 · Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht), 2C_567/2024 · archived copy Family refused a deceased relative's hospital record; top court upholds secrecy after death
In 2026, Switzerland scored 54 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 44th of 198 countries and territories (could be 28th to 57th), 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 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/switzerland/
The 22 sources for Switzerland
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)
“Bundesgesetz über den Datenschutz (DSG), SR 235.1, Stand 7. Juli 2025” [Federal Act on Data Protection (DSG), SR 235.1, as of 7 July 2025] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated July 7, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads
“Bundesgesetz über das elektronische Patientendossier (EPDG), SR 816.1, Stand 1. Oktober 2024” [Federal Act on the Electronic Patient Record (EPDG), SR 816.1, as of 1 October 2024] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated October 1, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you
“Verordnung über das elektronische Patientendossier (EPDV), SR 816.11, Stand 1. Oktober 2024” [Ordinance on the Electronic Patient Record (EPDV), SR 816.11, as of 1 October 2024] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated October 1, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Doctors see it when treating you
“Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), SR 311.0, Art. 321, Stand 1. Oktober 2026” [Swiss Criminal Code (StGB), SR 311.0, Art. 321, as of 1 October 2026] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated October 1, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Control over who sees it; Protection from sale and ads
“Update: Westschweizer Radiologienetzwerk bestätigt Datendiebstahl nach Cyberangriff” [Update: Western Swiss radiology network confirms data theft after cyberattack] our machine translation
SwissCybersecurity.net (news) · Title in German
Dated May 7, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Pflicht für elektronische Arztrezepte nimmt erste Hürde” [Obligation for electronic medical prescriptions clears first hurdle] our machine translation
Parlamentsdienste [Parliamentary Services] (government guidance) · Title in German
Dated March 12, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Bundesgesetz über die Forschung am Menschen (HFG), SR 810.30, Stand 1. September 2023” [Federal Act on Research involving Human Beings (HFG), SR 810.30, as of 1 September 2023] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated September 1, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Bundesgesetz über die Registrierung von Krebserkrankungen (KRG), SR 818.33, Stand 1. September 2023” [Federal Act on the Registration of Cancer Diseases (KRG), SR 818.33, as of 1 September 2023] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated September 1, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Revision des Humanforschungsgesetzes und des Stammzellenforschungsgesetzes” [Revision of the Human Research Act and the Stem Cell Research Act] our machine translation
BAG (government guidance) · Title in German
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Medizinprodukteverordnung (MepV), SR 812.213, Stand 1. Juli 2026” [Medical Devices Ordinance (MepV), SR 812.213, as of 1 July 2026] our machine translation
Fedlex (Swiss Confederation) (law or regulation) · Title in German
Dated July 1, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Rahmenbedingungen für KI in Arzneimittelentwicklung und regulatorischem Prozess” [Framework conditions for AI in medicine development and the regulatory process] our machine translation
Swissmedic (regulator) · Title in German
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Bundesrat will KI-Konvention des Europarats ratifizieren” [Federal Council wants to ratify the Council of Europe AI Convention] our machine translation
Bundesrat [Federal Council] (government guidance) · Title in German
Dated February 12, 2025 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (blocked by the site's bot protection)
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/switzerland/#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.
