Client data for social welfare services to be included in Kanta

The Kanta Services and information management in social welfare have been developed for some time, and this year the first batch of social welfare client data will be included in Kanta. The client data archive for social welfare services is a centralised electronic archive for client data created by social welfare services. It enables availability and utilisation of client data across organisation borders. 

“Client data created in social welfare services will be entered into the electronic archive to make it available to all operators that need it. The objective is to avoid a silo effect, i.e. data staying within individual information systems and organisations, and to tackle the problem of the data not being available where the client is seen,” explains Development Manager Maarit Rötsä of the National Institute for Health and Welfare.

The archiving of client data in social welfare will be implemented in stages: the functionalities that have now been built cover all basic needs, and other supplementary services will be introduced little by little. The new functionalities will be included in the service in 2020. 

How will the service impact the everyday lives of social welfare professionals or citizens?

The primary purpose of the archiving is to streamline the use of data in client work. For employees in social welfare, the method of recording client data will change and the service processes in organisations will be harmonised as a result of the deployment of the service.

“In practical terms, the most visible changes for the professionals are related to the type of data that is recorded and the type of process that will be used. When matters are carried out in a similar manner in all organisations, data will be easier to find. Naturally, the use of Kanta Services will also increase supervision of client data processing, which will improve data security,” Rötsä adds.

From the citizens’ point of view, the most apparent change will take place in 2020 when social welfare clients will be able to access documents drawn up on them in My Kanta Pages. 

“However, I hope that the citizens will notice the deployment of the service straight away with improved efficiency in the service process. When social welfare services can utilise previously recorded client data, the service will continue seamlessly even if the client moves to a different town or if a new employee takes over their care,” Rötsä describes.

When will the client data archive for social welfare services be deployed?

The service has been tested and developed since last autumn in cooperation with the City of Vaasa, the South Karelia Social and Health Care District (Eksote), the Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters, and the City of Turku. The final operating environment was completed in the spring, and the City of Vaasa launched the first pilot of the service in early May with child protection documents. In the summer, the South Karelia Social and Health Care District Eksote will be joining the service, with a project of recording the client data of all social welfare services in the archive service.

“As from September, all social welfare service providers with the technical capacity and capability to use the systems will be able to deploy the production. The information system utilised in client work is integrated in the Kanta Services, and that way the data will be recorded in the centralised electronic archive,” Rötsä explains.

Deployment of the client data archive for social welfare services is voluntary for both public and private social welfare organisations. Currently, no organisation has a legal duty to join the service, although that will be expected in the foreseeable future.

“The organisations that piloted the service embarked on the project from the very beginning because they consider that the archive is of great benefit for the provision of the services. Furthermore, seven other organisations are already well advanced in their preparations to join the system. It seems that the Kanta Services are very much needed and their deployment is eagerly awaited in the field," Rötsä says.

The development of Kanta Services in social welfare is part of the Kansa project plan aiming to harmonise client data in social welfare services and to make the data available to organisations serving the clients. 

Further information 

Kanta Services in social welfare

Information management in social welfare and health care (thl.fi)