Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in the United Kingdom?
In 2026, the United Kingdom scores 59 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 27th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 11th to 41st 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 doctors see it when treating you (60 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is privacy and security (56 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
In England, 39 million are registered on the NHS App and can opt out of the Summary Care Record, but not the Palantir-built data platform.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
59/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 11th to 41st, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 66 out of 100 in the United Kingdom; the typical country scores 40 to 45. UK GDPR gives a free copy of the record within one month, and 39.1 million people are registered on the NHS App. But the app shows only new GP record entries, not historic or hospital records; a single patient record is promised from 2028. Source: ICO, December 8, 2025, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in the United Kingdom?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in the United Kingdom. Control over who sees it scores 52 out of 100 in the United Kingdom; the typical country scores 30. Patients can opt out of the national Summary Care Record, and staff must ask permission before viewing it outside emergencies. But there is no opt-out from the Palantir-built Federated Data Platform, and access logs are available only by formal request. Source: NHS England Digital, May 28, 2025, and the other sources below.
How does the United Kingdom compare?
In 2026, the United Kingdom scores 59 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Ireland (47 out of 100), France (66 out of 100) and Germany (63 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Ireland, France, Germany, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
66
55 · 70 · 64
Control over who sees it20%
52
30 · 68 · 66
Privacy and security15%
56
56 · 58 · 58
One record across your care15%
62
38 · 72 · 66
Protection from sale and ads10%
60
58 · 66 · 70
Doctors see it when treating you10%
60
36 · 62 · 62
Your say over research use5%
64
70 · 60 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
55
50 · 54 · 50
Black dot: United Kingdom. Hollow dots: Ireland, France, 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: United Kingdom 59 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 the United Kingdom need to change to score higher?
The United Kingdom 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 (52 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (66 out of 100, against 40 to 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.
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 the United Kingdom?
UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018: Health is special category data; free access copy, usually within one month; ICO enforcement.
Data (Use and Access) Act 2025: Amends UK data protection, replaces the ICO with an Information Commission, sets binding health IT standards (s.121).
Health and Social Care Act 2012, s.261: NHS England may release collected data only for health care, social care or promotion of health.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
33.5 2023 · 27th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
95.6 2023 · 20th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
17.2% 2023 · 25th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"No independent prescribing organisations currently have ‘write access’ to patients’ NHS medical records – that is, the ability to enter information directly into a record."
Real cases
December 16, 2025 · Information Commissioner's Office · archived copy GP surgery sent 23 years of records to an insurer that asked for five
March 27, 2025 · Information Commissioner's Office · archived copy Regulator fines NHS software supplier after hackers took data on 79,404 people
In 2026, the United Kingdom scored 59 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 27th of 198 countries and territories (could be 11th to 41st), 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-kingdom/
The 25 sources for the United Kingdom
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)
“Right of access: health information”
ICO (regulator) · Title in English
Dated December 8, 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/united-kingdom/#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.
