Can I access my own medical records held by a hospital or clinic in Malta?

Yes, you generally have a clear legal right to access your own medical records under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applies directly in Malta and grants individuals the right to access their own personal data, including medical and health records, held by a data controller such as a hospital or clinic, meaning this is not simply a matter of the hospital's discretion but a legal entitlement you can formally exercise. To exercise this right, you would generally submit a formal subject access request to the hospital or clinic, and they are required to respond within a defined timeframe under GDPR, typically within one month, providing you with a copy of your relevant medical records, though certain limited exceptions can apply, such as where disclosure of specific information could genuinely cause serious harm to your own health or involves third-party information that would need to be appropriately redacted. If a healthcare provider in Malta fails to properly respond to a valid access request within the required timeframe, or improperly refuses access without adequate justification, you would have grounds to escalate a complaint to the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, which oversees GDPR compliance in Malta, and can investigate and, where warranted, take enforcement action regarding improper handling of subject access requests.