A guardian or another person who has the right to receive information about a child’s affairs can use MyKanta on behalf of a child under the age of 18. This is called acting on behalf of a minor. The right to manage another person’s affairs is verified with the Population Information System.
How to act on behalf of a minor in MyKanta
Log in to MyKanta at kanta.fi. You can identify yourself using online banking codes, for instance.
Select the section ‘Toisen puolesta asiointi’ (Acting on behalf of another person).
Select the child whose affairs you wish to manage.
If the child has means of electronic identification, they can also manage their affairs in MyKanta themselves.
- View your child’s prescriptions and health information
- View the child’s client data stored in social welfare services, which will gradually be displayed in MyKanta
- Request a prescription renewal for the child
- Confirm receipt of the information about the Kanta Services and grant consent to data sharing.
- Submit denials of consent to sharing of the child’s data
- Submit or view the child’s living will and organ donation testament
- Check the disclosure of the child’s health information
Managing these affairs on behalf of a minor requires that a social welfare or health care professional assesses the child’s decision-making capacity. Such matters can only be handled in person with a professional.
Visibility of information in MyKanta to guardians
There are regional differences in how a child’s social welfare and health care data are shown to their guardian. The visibility of the information is also affected by the assessment of the child’s decision-making capacity. A child with decision-making capacity has the right to decide whether their data are visible to their guardian.
The patient data recorded for a child under the age of 10 are usually visible to the guardian in MyKanta. The visibility of information about a child over 10 years of age varies because this requires modifications to health care information systems. The visibility of the information to the guardian requires that the child’s decision-making capacity has been assessed and recorded in their information.
The majority of public health care services can already record an assessment of the decision-making capacity of a child over the age of 10 in the child’s information. You can ask the health care service unit treating your child when your child’s information will begin to be shown in MyKanta.
The prescriptions of a child under 10 years of age are usually visible to the guardian in MyKanta. The visibility of the prescriptions of a child over 10 years of age varies because this requires modifications to health care information systems. The visibility of the information to the guardian requires that the child’s decision-making capacity has been assessed and recorded in their information.
You can use MyKanta to view the child’s social welfare client data that a social welfare professional has saved in Kanta. The social welfare services data will become available in MyKanta in stages over the period of 2023–2026.
As a rule, a guardian of a child under the age of 18 can view all of the information recorded about the child in MyKanta. The same information is also visible to the child.
A professional may, at their discretion or at the child’s justified request, limit the amount of data visible to the guardian in MyKanta. However, restrictions that apply to only one guardian cannot be made.
Why can’t I see my child’s data or prescriptions in MyKanta?
If your child's data or prescriptions are not shown in MyKanta, it may be due to one of the following reasons:
- There is a delay in showing the data, i.e. the professional has decided that the information will not appear in MyKanta until later.
- No assessment of the child’s decision-making capacity has been recorded in the child’s prescription or health information.
- The visibility of prescriptions or data to the guardian has been prohibited, i.e. a child with decision-making capacity has requested that the data are not disclosed to their guardian.
- The social welfare service unit does not yet store client data in Kanta.
Prescriptions and health data recorded before 1 August 2016 are not shown in MyKanta.
Acting on behalf of a minor in MyKanta
In general, both parents can act on behalf of their child. However, information about various life situations may have been recorded in the Population Information System and this information may affect the use of services on behalf of the child in MyKanta.
If you are unable to use MyKanta, you can ask the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service (dvv.fi) for more information about the situation.
If a guardian themselves has been appointed a legal guardian, they will not be able to act on behalf of a minor in MyKanta.
The child or guardian’s non-disclosure for personal safety reasons will affect acting on behalf of the minor as follows:
- If the child is subject to an order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, neither guardian can act on behalf of the minor or authorise the another to act on behalf of the minor in MyKanta.
- If both guardians have a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, in principle, neither guardian can act on behalf of the minor. In this case, the guardians may jointly authorise one or both of the guardians to act on behalf of the minor.
- If only one guardian has a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, only the guardian with the non-disclosure can act on the minor’s behalf. In this case, the guardians may jointly authorise the guardian who does not have an order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons to act on behalf of the minor.
Instructions for the mutual authorisation of guardians in non-disclosure situations can be found on the Suomi.fi online service (suomi.fi). In MyKanta, you need a Suomi.fi authorisation to manage health-related affairs Managing matters related to health care (suomi.fi) and the authorisation for Managing matters related to social welfare services (suomi.fi) to manage affairs related to social welfare client data.
If there is a custody agreement concerning the care of the child and it has been recorded in code form in the Population Information System, acting on behalf of the minor can be arranged in accordance with the custody agreement. If it is not possible to act on behalf of a minor in accordance with a custody agreement, the guardians can instead authorise one another to act on behalf of the minor using the Suomi.fi service.
Instructions for the mutual authorisation of guardians in non-disclosure situations can be found on the Suomi.fi online service (suomi.fi). In MyKanta, you need a Suomi.fi authorisation to manage health-related affairs Managing matters related to health care (suomi.fi) and the authorisation for Managing matters related to social welfare services (suomi.fi) to manage affairs related to social welfare client data.
If a person has the right of access to information, they can only view the child’s information in MyKanta. Examples of a person with a right of access to information include a parent who does not have custody of or right to make decisions for the child. The right of access to information is granted by a decision of a district court or a social welfare authority.