Data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services with the help of the Kanta services will be possible by 1 March 2027. From that day forward, social welfare and healthcare service providers must be able to view and record clients’ consents to data sharing in Kanta.
The sharing of data is governed by shared operating models. Learn the data sharing practices in our online training.
Consent to data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services
When serving a client, you can use data from the other sector, i.e. social welfare services client data in healthcare services and patient data in social welfare services, when the client has given consent to the sharing of their data for this purpose. The types of consent to data sharing are as follows:
- consent to sharing patient data with social welfare services
- consent to sharing social welfare services client data with healthcare services.
The client can give consent to the sharing of their data when they have received the required information about the Kanta services.
In addition, you must always have the right to access the data concerned and legitimate grounds for using them. Legitimate grounds include a care or client relationship, for example.
Please note that the consent for data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services is separate from the consent for data sharing within the same sector, which for example includes the sharing of patient data between different healthcare providers.
- Read more about the sharing of patient data in healthcare services.
- Read more about the sharing of social welfare services client data between social welfare service providers.
The consents to data sharing stored in Kanta concern the sharing of data both through Kanta and in other ways, such as in the organisation's own systems or on paper.
Consent to data sharing can be limited in scope
When consenting to data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services, the client may give the permission to disclose all of their client or patient data or limit their consent to apply only to specific service providers, specific data or a specific time period. Unlike data sharing within a sector, data sharing between sectors cannot be limited by setting up denials of consent to the sharing of data.
Limited consent to data sharing with social welfare services
The client may limit their consent to sharing their patient data with social welfare services
- on a service provider-specific basis, which means that the client can give consent to sharing their patient data
- with the social welfare services organised by all wellbeing services counties and by the City of Helsinki
- with a specific state social welfare unit
- with a specific private social welfare service provider and other service providers operating in connection with it
- for specific data, such as
- patient summaries consisting of key patient information
- all entries recorded about service events
- statements or certificates drawn up for the other authorities
- for patient data recorded during a specific time period.
Consent to sharing patient data with social welfare services also applies to prescription information. With the introduction of the Kanta medication list, social welfare service providers will be able to retrieve prescription data from Kanta as from 1 November 2027 if the necessary changes have been made to the client information system used by the service provider.
Limited consent to sharing social welfare services client data with healthcare services
The client may limit their consent to sharing their social welfare services client data with healthcare services
- on a service provider-specific basis, in which case the client can give consent to sharing their data
- with healthcare services provided by all wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and the HUS Group
- with a specific state healthcare unit or the healthcare services of the Finnish Defence Forces
- with a specific private healthcare service provider and other service providers operating in connection with it
- to client data recorded in connection with selected services, such as services for families with children or services for the elderly
- to client data recorded during a certain time period.
When is consent to data sharing not required?
In some situations, it is possible to share client and patient data even if the client has not given consent to sharing them. These include the following situations:
The service is produced jointly by social welfare and healthcare services
When a client’s service is delivered as a joint social welfare and healthcare service and at the same service point, the professionals participating in the service have the right to access and use the client data necessary for providing the service. In this case, consent to data sharing is not required for processing data from the other sector.
The client is unable to make an independent decision on consent to data sharing
In social welfare and healthcare services, client data that is necessary for providing the service may be used if the client is unable to assess the significance of giving consent because of a memory disorder, mental disorder, disability or a similar reason and does not have a legal representative. Necessary data is what the service provider needs in order to organise or deliver the service or care.
Social welfare authorities have an extensive right to access information
Social welfare authorities have the right to obtain the patient data that is necessary for determining the client’s need for social welfare services and for organising the services. For example, this applies to a situation in which a social worker in a wellbeing services county assesses the client’s need for social welfare services. The right to access patient data also applies to a situation in which information given to the authority has to be checked. In these situations, the social welfare authority receives the necessary data without consent to data sharing.
How to record client’s consent to data sharing
Your client can give both types of consent to data sharing in MyKanta or when visiting social welfare and healthcare services. Social welfare and healthcare service providers must be able to process both types of consent from 1 March 2027 at the latest if the client requests it.
When you save a client's consent to data sharing, record the consent in the information system you use, from where it will then be recorded in Kanta. Print a copy of the consent to data sharing for the client if the client requests it. The printout does not need to be signed or archived.
Frequently asked questions about data sharing between social welfare and healthcare
For a healthcare worker to be able to use the information recorded in social services and vice versa, the client must have given consent to sharing the data concerned.
When you retrieve client or patient data from Kanta, Kanta automatically takes into account the consent given by the client. The consent stored in Kanta must also be taken into account if the data is shared by means other than by using Kanta.
Retrieving data from Kanta with the client or patient information system you use is possible only if the necessary technical changes have been made to the system. Each service provider can decide how the utilisation of data between sectors will be implemented in the information systems used and what the timetable for it will be. Organisations must also provide their employees with instructions for their own operating models. If necessary, ask your organisation about this.
No, they do not because the denials of consent to sharing patient data set by the client do not affect the data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services.
For example, if a client has set a denial of consent to sharing their patient data from the patient register of a specific wellbeing services county, the data will not be disclosed from one service provider to another in healthcare services. However, if necessary, the data will be shared with a social welfare service provider if the client has granted consent to sharing their patient data with social welfare services.
Read more about consent and denial of consent to sharing patient data.
No, they do not because the denials of consent to sharing social welfare services client data set by the client do not affect the sharing of data between social welfare and healthcare.
For example, if a client has restricted the sharing of client data in the client register of the social welfare services of a certain wellbeing services county, the data in question will not be disclosed from one social welfare service provider to another. However, the data can be disclosed to healthcare if the client has given consent to sharing their social welfare services client data with healthcare.
Read more about consent and denial of consent to sharing social welfare services client data.
The client’s data is not transferred from social welfare services to healthcare services or vice versa if the client has not given consent to data sharing or the client limits their consent only to specific data that may be disclosed from one sector to the other.
It should be noted that in some situations, consent to data sharing is not taken into account if the social welfare or healthcare service provider has a statutory right to access data, which does not depend on consent.
A minor may give consent to data sharing between social welfare and healthcare services when visiting a service provider if the professional considers the minor to be capable of deciding on the use of their data. In addition, consent to data sharing requires that the minor has received the information about the Kanta services.
Yes. A parent or guardian who has received the required information about the Kanta services on behalf of a minor may give consent to data sharing between sectors in My Kanta, and this consent applies to all data and all service providers. If the parent or guardian wishes to limit the consent to data sharing, for example, to information on a specific service task or restrict it to apply to a specific period of time, this must be done by visiting the service provider. In addition, the withdrawal of consent concerning the minor’s data must always be carried out by visiting the service provider.
What client data can be used in the joint social welfare and healthcare services without the client’s consent to sharing the data?
When the client’s service is produced jointly by social welfare and healthcare services and takes place at a same service point, the professional participating in the service have the right to access and use the client data necessary for providing the service. In this case, you do not need consent to data sharing for data of the same controller but from the other sector.
For example, data stored in the social welfare and healthcare services organised by the same wellbeing services county can be used within the limits of access rights without consent for sharing the data when the data are necessary for the implementation of a joint service.
In order to ensure the lawful processing of client data, it is essential for the service provider to be able to tell if the service concerned is a joint social welfare and healthcare service.
Read more about the joint social welfare and healthcare services (in Finnish).
A service provider with main responsibility refers to a private social welfare or healthcare service provider, in connection with which other service providers may also be operating. The service provider with main responsibility has joined the Kanta services through the client or patient information system it uses.
Private social welfare and/or healthcare actors must notify the service provider with main responsibility to THL's Code service. The information is used to share client and patient data between the sectors. You can use this form (webpropol)(opens new window) to report the information.
A service provider that stores information in Kanta using the information system of the service provider with main responsibility does not need to register as a service provider with main responsibility (a so-called joint connection model). For example, at medical centres, a number of other companies or private entrepreneurs often operate in connection with the service provider with main responsibility.