In short: health transparency means four things for a patient. You can see your whole medical record, take it with you to another doctor or country, decide who may read it, and check who did, in formats other systems can read. In the European Union the law moves in this direction (GDPR today, the EHDS from 2029), and you can already put most of it into practice yourself.
The phrase is used for different things. In the United States it often means price transparency: what a procedure costs at different hospitals. This guide is about the other meaning, the one that concerns your own information: how open, complete and portable your medical record is for you.
At a glance
| Access | You can see and get a copy of everything recorded about you (GDPR Article 15, today) |
|---|---|
| Portability | You can take your data to another provider, in a format it can read; in the EU, cross-border exchange grows under the EHDS |
| Control | You decide who may read which part, for how long, and you can withdraw it |
| Audit | You can find out who accessed your record and when |
| Interoperability | Your record uses open standards (HL7 FHIR, the International Patient Summary, LOINC, ICD-10), so other systems can read it |
| Not about | Diagnosis or treatment advice; and, in this guide, prices |
The four parts of health transparency
1. Access: you can see it
Your record is spread across hospitals, laboratories, family doctors and private clinics. Each holds a part. Under the GDPR you have the right to a copy of what each one holds about you, free for the first copy, within one month, which the provider can extend by up to two more months for complex requests, if it tells you why. Access is the starting point: you cannot move or check what you cannot see. More in your medical data in the EU.
2. Portability: you can take it with you
Seeing a PDF is not the same as being able to use it. Portability means the next doctor, in another clinic or another country, can read your history without you repeating it from memory. That needs structured data in a common format. See health data portability and how to transfer your medical records.
3. Control: you decide who reads it
A transparent record is not a public one. You choose who sees which part (for example your lab results but not your mental health notes), for how long, and you can stop it. Consent should be specific, time-limited and easy to withdraw.
4. Audit: you can check who did
Control means little if you cannot verify it. An access log shows who opened your record, when and what they saw. See who viewed my medical record.
See everything
Results, medications, conditions, vaccines and documents, in one place.
Decide who reads it
By category and by period, with access you can withdraw at any time.
Check the accesses
A log of who opened your record through links, clinic access and AI assistants, and when.
What the law gives you in the EU
- Now (GDPR): access to your data and a copy (in a commonly used electronic form if you ask electronically), correction, and portability in a structured format for data processed on your consent or a contract.
- From 26 March 2029 (EHDS): free electronic access to your patient summary and electronic prescriptions through national services, exchange across EU countries, the right to restrict access and to see who accessed your data.
- From 26 March 2031 (EHDS): the same for medical images, laboratory results and discharge reports.
Between connected countries, the EU's MyHealth@EU infrastructure already exchanges patient summaries and e-prescriptions through national contact points; under the EHDS this becomes mandatory and wider. Details and sources in your medical data in the EU.
Where Anpheros fits, honestly
Anpheros Daily is a personal health record you keep yourself. It is not connected to MyHealth@EU or to national health systems, and it does not replace them. What it does today:
- keeps your record (and your family's) in one place, in HL7 FHIR R4, hosted in the EU;
- exports the International Patient Summary as PDF or FHIR, and creates links with a QR code for a doctor that expire when you choose (7, 30 or 90 days) and that you can switch off;
- lets a clinic that uses Anpheros Platform request access, which you approve for the period you choose;
- lists everyone with access in Connections, where you can stop it at once; openings through doctor links, clinic access and AI assistants are recorded in your access log;
- does not diagnose and does not recommend treatment.
So it helps with access (in one place), portability (open formats), control and audit, while public systems catch up.
Related
- Personal health record (PHR), or health data wallet: the record you keep yourself.
- International Patient Summary: the standard summary any system can read.
- SMART Health Links: share a summary with a link or QR code that expires.
- Emergency card: only the essentials, for an accident.
Frequently asked questions
What does health transparency mean?
For patients, it means being able to see your whole medical record, take it to another doctor or country, decide who reads it and check who did, in formats other systems can read. In the US the phrase is also used for hospital price transparency, a different topic.
Is health transparency a law?
Not as one law. In the EU it comes from the GDPR (access and portability, in force) and the European Health Data Space regulation (EHDS), whose patient rights apply from 26 March 2029 for summaries and prescriptions and from 26 March 2031 for images, lab results and discharge reports.
Can I see who accessed my medical record?
Under the GDPR you can ask a provider whom your data was disclosed to. Under the EHDS you will be able to see which providers accessed your electronic health data. You can also ask for the actual names of the organisations that received your data (EU Court of Justice, case C-154/21, 2023). In Anpheros Daily, everyone with access is listed in Connections, and openings through doctor links, clinic access and AI assistants are recorded in your access log.
Is Anpheros connected to MyHealth@EU?
No. Anpheros is a personal health record that you control; it is not part of MyHealth@EU or of any national health system. It uses the same open standards (FHIR, IPS) so your data can be read by other systems.
Does health transparency mean my data is public?
No. Transparency here means transparent to you: you see everything and you decide who else may see it.
Try it in Anpheros Daily
In Anpheros Daily you decide who can open your record and for how long, and you can switch any access off.
How it works in the app →
Anpheros builds a medical record that the patient controls and can share with any clinic, on an HL7 FHIR R4 platform, based in the EU. These guides help you understand and organise your health; they do not replace your doctor.
About Anpheros →
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