Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in the United Arab Emirates?
In 2026, the United Arab Emirates scores 55 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 40th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 23rd to 54th 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 one record across your care (80 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). The furthest behind is getting your full record (35 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country).
Each emirate runs its own shared record with near-universal reach, but patient copy rights and opt-outs come from emirate regulators, not federal law.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
55/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 23rd to 54th, allowing for scoring error
Low confidence. Thin evidence on 4 of the 8 rights: your copy, who sees it, joined-up record and sale and ads. 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 the United Arab Emirates?
Who controls health records in the United Arab Emirates?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in the United Arab Emirates. Control over who sees it scores 48 out of 100 in the United Arab Emirates; the typical country scores 30. Each emirate has a different rule: Riayati lets Northern Emirates patients opt out and promises access notices, Dubai's NABIDH takes opt-outs by signed form, and Abu Dhabi's Malaffi makes participation universal. Source: MOHAP, June 11, 2020, and the other sources below.
How does the United Arab Emirates compare?
In 2026, the United Arab Emirates scores 55 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Saudi Arabia (53 out of 100), Qatar (50 out of 100) and Israel (62 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
35
64 · 60 · 66
Control over who sees it20%
48
32 · 30 · 50
Privacy and security15%
50
50 · 54 · 58
One record across your care15%
80
70 · 57 · 78
Protection from sale and ads10%
56
54 · 52 · 56
Doctors see it when treating you10%
76
54 · 54 · 75
Your say over research use5%
46
46 · 50 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
64
58 · 40 · 50
Black dot: United Arab Emirates. Hollow dots: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: United Arab Emirates 55 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would the United Arab Emirates need to change to score higher?
The United Arab Emirates sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. Its weakest right, compared with the typical country, is getting your full record (35 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Every other right is at or above the typical country; the one with the most room to grow, weighted, is control over who sees it (48 out of 100, against 30 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.
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 the United Arab Emirates?
Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the Use of ICT in Health Fields: Confidentiality, central exchange, 25-year retention, health data kept in the UAE, fines and licence sanctions.
Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data: General privacy law; excludes health data with its own law and government entities.
Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024 on Medical Products: Regulates medical devices including AI-based products; design changes need new approval.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
29.9 2023
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
61.6 2023
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
13.1% 2023
Record reaches private care?
yes
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 16.5% of health spending (2023).
"Abu Dhabi’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform, Malaffi, has announced that all public and private hospitals in the Emirate are now connected to the platform."
Real cases
May 9, 2025 · Emarat Al Youm · archived copy Regulator closes four clinics that wrote visits that never happened into medical files
March 27, 2026 · Emarat Al Youm · archived copy Regulator shuts five health facilities after finding manipulated medical data
In 2026, the United Arab Emirates scored 55 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 40th of 198 countries and territories (could be 23rd to 54th), 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/united-arab-emirates/
The 23 sources for the United Arab Emirates
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)
“DOH Standard on Patient Healthcare Data Privacy”
Department of Health Abu Dhabi, hosted by Malaffi (government guidance) · Title in English
Dated September 16, 2020 · 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/united-arab-emirates/#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.
