Parents and guardians will have the right to act on behalf of all minors in phases as from 1 October 2020. It is estimated that acting on behalf of a person over 18 in My Kanta Pages based on an e-authorisation will become possible at the beginning of 2021.
Acting on behalf of a minor
Parents and guardians will have the right to act on behalf of all minors in phases. Before the data of all minors can be shown to parents or guardians, the healthcare service must make the necessary changes in the patient data systems. The modification work will proceed in accordance with the decisions of individual healthcare organisations.
Once the changes have been implemented in the organisation in question, a healthcare professional will assess a minor’s decision-making capacity in a care situation and record in the patient data system the wishes of a minor who is capable of making decisions concerning sharing of data with the parents or guardians.
The assessment of the decision-making capacity and any refusal to share data always apply to an individual appointment or treatment period and the related documents. The information must be entered in a structured way in connection with both the appointment and the prescription.
A minor who has been assessed to be capable of making decisions may refuse to share the following data with his or her parents or guardians:
- information related to the appointment
- information related to the treatment period
- information related to prescriptions.
Acting on behalf of a minor in My Kanta Pages
When a parent or guardian acts on behalf of their minor child in My Kanta Pages, they will log in to the service with their own username and password, and then select the Child’s Data link and the child in question. The right to view a minor’s data is verified from the Population Information System.
Further information about acting on behalf of a minor and the related limitations, e.g. in shared custody situations is available here:
Benefits of acting on behalf of a minor
Showing the data concerning a minor in My Kanta Pages
- supports the participation and the right to access by parents or guardians strengthens the minor’s right to a confidential patient care relationship
- improves the flow of information and reduces the number of letters sent by post enables viewing of data regardless of time or place.
Some data may remain undisclosed
Not all health data concerning a minor will necessarily be accessible by parents or guardians in My Kanta Pages. This applies especially to minors who
- after the deployment of the new functionality have been assessed by the healthcare service to be capable of deciding on their own care and have refused the showing of their data to their parents or guardians in My Kanta Pages.
- are over 10 years of age and visit a healthcare unit whose patient data system still does not support the functionality of acting on behalf of a minor.
Data concerning a child over 10 years of age that has no accompanying information about the minor’s decision-making capacity and their wish to share data will not be shown to parents or guardians.
Healthcare services are not required to retrospectively enter in the minor’s information the assessment of the minor’s decision-making capacity or the minor’s opinion on sharing data with their parents or guardians.
Acting on behalf of a minor and joint custody
Until further notice, parents or guardians with a note recorded in the Population Information System concerning shared parental responsibilities are not able to act on the child’s behalf. In future, it is possible to submit to the Population Information System encoded data about what has been agreed on parental responsibilities. The Suomi.fi e-Authorisations will deploy joint custody data during 2021, after which My Kanta Pages will also be able to utilise the encoded data.
The encoding applies to new joint custody agreements only. Old joint custody agreements are encoded into the Population Information System only on specific request.
Acting on behalf of a person over the age of 18
Currently, there are no functions in My Kanta Pages for acting on behalf of a person over the age of 18, and it is not possible even based on authorisation or a decision on guardianship. It is estimated that acting on behalf of a person over 18 in My Kanta Pages based on an e-authorisation will become possible at the beginning of 2021.
The granting of an authorisation uses the Suomi.fi authorisations (suomi.fi) of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, which means that granting of authorisations requires strong identification, e.g. with online banking codes or a mobile certificate. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is also developing an option of granting authorisation by visiting the authorities, in which case electronic identification methods are not required.
The acting of guardians on behalf of their client will become possible after the data on guardianship and the contents of the decision on guardianship can be utilised with the Suomi.fi authorisations.
Acting on behalf of someone in social welfare services
Client data in social welfare services will be shown in My Kanta Pages as from 2021 at the earliest. This means that acting on behalf of someone in My Kanta Pages on the basis of custody or electronic authorisation will also be possible in terms of client data in social welfare services.