Who Holds the Record · country brief · data as of 2026-10-01Who holds the health record in Portugal?
In 2026, Portugal scores 64 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 10 of 65 countries, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-01.
Portugal's SNS 24 shows patients who opened their record and asks consent before clinicians look; a May 2026 credential theft tested both.
Published · updated · data as of 2026-10-01 · research tool, not legal advice
Can I get my health records in Portugal?
Access to the full record scores 70 of 100 in Portugal, against a median of 62 across 65 countries. Portugal scored 88.1 on the EU 2025 record-access indicator against an EU average of 82.7, and SNS 24 shows prescriptions, lab results, vaccines and five years of care history. Lei 12/2005 gives a right to the whole record, but the portal is not the full chart.
Can I control who sees my health record in Portugal?
Control and consent scores 70 of 100 in Portugal, against a median of 52 across 65 countries. Clinicians cannot open the national record without the patient's authorisation, set in SNS 24 or given at the visit, and patients can see every access. Lei 58/2019 requires that people be notified of any access to their health data.
Eight rights, against Austria, Belgium, Germany and the EU
| Patient access to the full record20% | 70 | 63 · 68 · 64 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient control and consent20% | 70 | 72 · 72 · 66 | |
| Privacy and security15% | 56 | 63 · 54 · 58 | |
| Connected care journey15% | 68 | 68 · 68 · 66 | |
| Protection from commercial use10% | 62 | 66 · 54 · 70 | |
| Clinician access at the point of care10% | 64 | 66 · 62 · 62 | |
| Research and trial consent5% | 48 | 49 · 49 · 50 | |
| Clinical AI governance5% | 50 | 50 · 50 · 50 |
Black dot: Portugal. Hollow dots: Austria, Belgium, Germany (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 65 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Portugal 64, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; gaps of 4 or less are ties.
What would Portugal need to change to score higher?
Portugal sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 65-country median, weighted, are research and trial consent (48, median 49) and clinical AI governance (50, median 50). The published rubric reads:
- Research and trial consent: A general opt-out that is honoured, or dynamic or opt-in consent, with a public register of research uses: 55 to 85.
- 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 Portugal?
- Lei n.º 12/2005, informação genética pessoal e informação de saúde (2005): Health data belongs to the person; right to the whole record; insurers barred from genetic data.
- Lei n.º 58/2019, execução do RGPD (2019): Applies GDPR; health data need to know, secrecy duty, and notice to people of every access.
- Lei n.º 95/2019, Lei de Bases da Saúde (2019): Health information is the person's property; SNS systems must interoperate.
Strain and split context, not scored
- Doctors per 10,000
- 60.2 2023 · OECD 2 of 38
- Nurses and midwives per 10,000
- 80.1 2023 · OECD 23 of 38
- Private insurance + out-of-pocket
- 37.5% 2023 · OECD 6 of 35
- Record reaches private care?
- partial
"Data held only by private providers is often missing."
Published stories
- 2026-07-29 · Comissão de Acesso aos Documentos Administrativos (CADA), Parecer 392/2026 Hospital admitted staff outside the care team opened a patient's record
- 2026-07-29 · Comissão de Acesso aos Documentos Administrativos (CADA), Parecer 406/2026 Hospital demanded an ID card copy before releasing a patient's records to their lawyer
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