All social welfare actors must use functionalities that meet the requirements of the obligation to join as laid down in the Act on the Processing of Client Data in Healthcare and Social Welfare. This enables the secure and compliant saving, processing and disclosure of client data in Kanta Services.
Once the service provider has adopted the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services, the use of the service can be extended to various functionalities and additional services.
Information about the service functionalities
In addition, the page describes optional functionalities that the service provider can choose to implement.
For more detailed information on the information system profiles, please refer to the Kanta Services handbook for social welfare service providers (yhteistyotilat.fi, in Finnish)(opens new window).
In addition, you can read more about
the register access right of social welfare services and old social services client data on their respective pages.
The basic functionalities enable the saving, retrieval and processing of client data in the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services. The client information system must have implemented the up-to-date requirements in accordance with national specifications.
Read more about the Specifications of the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services(opens new window) (in Finnish).
Under the Act, social welfare documents generated in purchased services and service voucher services must be saved in a structured format in the client register of the service organiser procuring the service.
The right to access the register allows the service organiser and service provider to access the same client data from their own information systems and process them in the correct register.
Read more about the right to access social welfare registers .
The information system in accordance with the obligation to join makes it possible to transfer social welfare client information between different social welfare actors.
The functions allow the professional to save the information provided to the client from Kanta in their client information system, from where it is stored in Kanta. At the client’s request, the professional can save and edit the consent or restrictions for disclosing social welfare information. In addition, the professional can retrieve client information stored by another social welfare actor from Kanta.
Sharing of data via the Kanta Services and information about Kanta Services(opens new window)
Sharing of social welfare client data(opens new window)Kanta Services handbook for social welfare service providers: Management of data sharing (yhteistyotilat.fi, in Finnish)(opens new window)
Structural documents follow the uniform social welfare document structures published in THL’s Sosmeta service. The Service Provider must adopt the structured client documents that are required for the services it provides. The need for different documents depends on the services offered by the service provider and the requirements regarding the processing of client data.
When documents are stored structurally, the client data and document content recorded in the client work can be better utilised with different information systems.
In addition, structural documents support the use of information in management and service development.
Structural documents are always stored in Kanta in a format that can be shown to the client in MyKanta or printed for the client as paper copies.
Document structures and data content (yhteistyotilat.fi, in Finnish)(opens new window)
Social welfare monitoring register (thl.fi, in Finnish)(opens new window)
Documents stored in Kanta are always signed electronically either with a system signature or a professional’s electronic signature. This verifies the signee and ensures that signed materials, such as a document to be saved, remains unchanged.
A professional’s electronic signature must be used to sign social welfare documents that have a significant impact on the client’s basic rights or that hold special significance to the legal protection of a client. Such documents include all decisions and statements, as well as a few other individual documents.
Learn more
Information subject to non-disclosure for safety reasons can be stored in the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services. This includes information indicating the place of residence, address and other information of a person who has a valid denial of consent to data sharing for safety reasons.
Data that is subject to non-disclosure for safety reasons and which is recorded in the client information system or the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services may only be processed by the professionals who have access rights to process such data.
Optional functionalities and information content
The extensive right to access a register is a special case of access rights to a register, in which a social welfare service provider performs tasks of managing client relationships, matters and client documents that are the responsibility of the service organiser.
At the moment, the extensive right to access registers is used in shelter services. The controller of the data generated in shelter services is the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), but the shelters also perform separately agreed service organiser tasks under extensive rights to access registers.
Read more rekisterinkäyttöoikeudesta (yhteistyotilat.fi) (opens new window)in finnish
The client’s electronic signature enables the signing of client documents regardless of time and place. The signature is based on strong identification, such as online banking codes, and the signed document is saved as an original in the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services.
A document may be signed either electronically or by hand, but the signatures for the same document cannot be combined in different ways. If the document is signed electronically, all signatories must use an electronic signature.
Electronic signatures are particularly suitable for contracts, consents and other documents in which the client’s signature has legal significance. The system used by the service provider must support electronic signatures and be connected to the Suomi.fi e-Identification service. The integrity and immutability of the documents is ensured in accordance with national requirements. Before deployment, check with your information system supplier that the system supports the client’s electronic signature.
More information
Kanta-palvelujen käsikirja sosiaalihuollon toimijoille (kappale 9.10.2) (opens new window)
In certain situations, social welfare information can be disclosed to another service provider even if the client has not given consent for the disclosure.
In situations where a social welfare client does not have the prerequisites to assess the significance of the disclosure consent and does not have a legal representative, the service provider has the right to obtain the necessary client information from other social welfare service providers in order to implement the client’s service.
Read more tiedonsaantioikeudesta (yhteistyotilat.fi)(opens new window)
It is also possible to save so-called old client information in the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services. Such data was generated before joining Kanta.
More information
A common case allows the same client documents to be saved for several people involved in the same case. The professional considers when it is a common case for clients. This may be necessary, for example, when dealing with the need for support of family members.
Read more about handling a common case(opens new window) (yhteistyötilat.fi)
How to start using the new functionalities
If your organisation has not yet joined the Kanta Services, please refer to the instructions on deploying the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services and deploy the service.
If you have already joined the Client Data Repository for Social Welfare Services and want to extend the use of the service to new functions, take the following steps:
Contact your system provider to make sure that the functions you want can be deployed in your client information system.
Plan and schedule the deployment of functionalities. Be sure to inform both your staff and customers about what the expansion of the Kanta Services means in practice. You can use the deployment task table to plan and monitor progress.
Provide induction for your personnel on any material changes in operating policies.
Conduct a deployment test together with your information system supplier if you make changes to your client information system or introduce new functionalities (such as data disclosures and their management). The test involves entering the data for a specified test case at a predetermined time.
Send a report of the successfully completed deployment test to Kela.
Use of the service can be extended as the systems are developed
Social welfare services may extend the use of the Kanta Services as new data content and functionalities become available for deployment in the systems. The service provider should enquire with their information system provider as to when the new functionalities will be available in the client information system in question.
More information on development schedules can be found in the publication schedule for Kanta Services. The schedule also outlines the statutory deadlines by which social welfare and health care services must deploy the new functions.