Who Holds the Record · country brief · data as of 2026-10-02Who holds the health record in Estonia?
In 2026, Estonia scores 68 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 3= of 65 countries, in the Strong band (65 to 84). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-02.
Every provider must feed one national record that patients can read, log-check and close, but police and security services can query it without consent.
Published · updated · data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
Can I get my health records in Estonia?
Access to the full record scores 80 of 100 in Estonia, against a median of 62 across 65 countries. The Health Portal shows documents, prescriptions, invoices and access logs, kept without time limit, and 60% of people aged 16 to 74 read records online in 2024 (EU 28%). Export was not verified, so the score sits in the lower half of its band.
Can I control who sees my health record in Estonia?
Control and consent scores 68 of 100 in Estonia, against a median of 52 across 65 countries. Patients can close their whole record or single documents in the portal and read a logbook of who viewed each document. Uploads need no consent, prescription views are not in the portal log, and police can obtain data for criminal proceedings without consent.
Eight rights, against Hungary, Sweden, Denmark and the EU
| Patient access to the full record20% | 80 | 72 · 77 · 78 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient control and consent20% | 68 | 72 · 72 · 70 | |
| Privacy and security15% | 55 | 62 · 64 · 62 | |
| Connected care journey15% | 80 | 78 · 66 · 82 | |
| Protection from commercial use10% | 58 | 55 · 60 · 58 | |
| Clinician access at the point of care10% | 75 | 76 · 64 · 78 | |
| Research and trial consent5% | 50 | 47 · 49 · 49 | |
| Clinical AI governance5% | 50 | 54 · 50 · 50 |
Black dot: Estonia. Hollow dots: Hungary, Sweden, Denmark (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 65 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Estonia 68, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; gaps of 4 or less are ties.
What would Estonia need to change to score higher?
Estonia sits in Strong (65 to 84); Leading starts at 85. The two rights furthest below the 65-country median, weighted, are privacy and security (55, median 55) and clinical AI governance (50, median 50). The published rubric reads:
- Privacy and security: Health-sector enforcement on the record: an independent regulator deciding health-data cases, breach notification and penalties applied.
- Clinical AI governance: Device regulation of clinical AI with change control and human oversight in force, plus national rules where EU law leaves gaps.
Which laws give health record rights in Estonia?
- Health Services Organisation Act (Tervishoiuteenuste korraldamise seadus) (2001): Mandatory uploads to the national record, patient access and right to block providers, consent exceptions, research fees.
- Government Regulation No. 138, Statute of the Health Information System (2016): Portal contents, closing records, representatives, 30-year logs and the patient's view of access logs.
- Personal Data Protection Act (Isikuandmete kaitse seadus) (2018): Applies GDPR; section 6 allows research without consent, mainly pseudonymised, with ethics committee checks.
Strain and split context, not scored
- Doctors per 10,000
- 34.9 2023 · OECD 24 of 38
- Nurses and midwives per 10,000
- 70.4 2023 · OECD 26 of 38
- Private insurance + out-of-pocket
- 23.0% 2023 · OECD 19 of 35
- Record reaches private care?
- partial
"Levinud on arusaam, et tasuliste teenuste andmeid ei pea tervise infosüsteemi esitama, mis tekitab andmelünki."
Published stories
- 2026-09-02 · Andmekaitse Inspektsioon (Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate) Court upholds 3 million euro fine over pharmacy loyalty data leak including health data
- 2025-12-05 · Riigikontroll (National Audit Office of Estonia), report to the Riigikogu Provider ignored a patient's request to correct entries in the national health system
Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: whoholds.supertruth.ai