Who Holds the Record by SuperTruth: back to the indexWho Holds the Record · country brief · data as of 2026-10-02

Who holds the health record in the United Kingdom?

In 2026, the United Kingdom scores 59 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 27= of 65 countries, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-02.

The person has real controls inside a state or provider system. Its strongest right against the other countries is research and trial consent (64, against a median of 49 across 65 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is patient control and consent (52, median 52).

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 · data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice

59overall, of 100 · Mixed
27=rank of 65
Sharedwho holds the keys
highconfidence
90 · Platinumevidence grade (DTI)

Can I get my health records in the United Kingdom?

Access to the full record scores 66 of 100 in the United Kingdom, against a median of 62 across 65 countries. 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.

Can I control who sees my health record in the United Kingdom?

Control and consent scores 52 of 100 in the United Kingdom, against a median of 52 across 65 countries. 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.

Eight rights, against Ireland, France, Germany and the EU

Patient access to the full record20%6655 · 70 · 64
Patient control and consent20%5230 · 68 · 66
Privacy and security15%5656 · 58 · 58
Connected care journey15%6238 · 72 · 66
Protection from commercial use10%6058 · 66 · 70
Clinician access at the point of care10%6036 · 62 · 62
Research and trial consent5%6470 · 60 · 50
Clinical AI governance5%5550 · 54 · 50

Black dot: United Kingdom. Hollow dots: Ireland, France, Germany (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 65 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: United Kingdom 59, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; gaps of 4 or less are ties.

What would the United Kingdom need to change to score higher?

The United Kingdom sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 65-country median, weighted, are patient control and consent (52, median 52) and connected care journey (62, median 62). The published rubric reads:

  • Patient control and consent: An opt-out or opt-in, a patient-visible access log and granular choices together put control at 60 to 80.
  • Connected care journey: Primary care, hospitals, labs, pharmacy, claims and public health linked to one record and used at national scale.

Which laws give health record rights in the United Kingdom?

  • UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (2018): Health is special category data; free access copy, usually within one month; ICO enforcement.
  • Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (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 (2012): NHS England may release collected data only for health care, social care or promotion of health.

Strain and split context, not scored

Doctors per 10,000
33.5 2023 · OECD 27 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
95.6 2023 · OECD 20 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
17.2% 2023 · OECD 25 of 35
Record reaches private care?
partial
"No independent prescribing organisations currently have ‘write access’ to patients’ NHS medical records – that is, the ability to enter information directly into a record."

Published stories

  • 2025-12-16 · Information Commissioner's Office GP surgery sent 23 years of records to an insurer that asked for five
  • 2025-03-27 · Information Commissioner's Office Regulator fines NHS software supplier after hackers took data on 79,404 people

Compare the United Kingdom

Cite this brief

In 2026, the United Kingdom scored 59 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 27= of 65 countries (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-02, https://whoholds.supertruth.ai/brief/GBR/

Sources for the United Kingdom (25)

SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai
Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: whoholds.supertruth.ai
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI: SuperTruth's Data Trust Index, grading the evidence behind each score. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://whoholds.supertruth.ai/brief/GBR/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Text and scores CC BY 4.0.