Oral healthcare

Oral healthcare

An oral healthcare provider using the Patient Data Repository can utilise all treatment data entered in the Patient Data Repository. The patient will see their oral treatment data entered in the Repository in MyKanta, which promotes the patient’s commitment to their care.

Oral healthcare focuses on the health of teeth and the mouth, but a dental care provider can view the client’s treatment history from the Patient Data Repository also with respect to their general health. This will make it easier to get an overall picture of the patient’s situation and to take into account any factors that may have an impact on treatment, such as medication.

When patient record documents in oral healthcare are entered in the Patient Data Repository, the oral healthcare treatment data can also be utilised elsewhere in the health service in connection with patient care. 

Patients see their treatment data in MyKanta

Patients can view their oral healthcare data entered in the Patient Data Repository in MyKanta, which means that they will also have their healthcare data as a whole at their disposal.

The easy accessibility of data promotes the patient’s commitment to the treatment and compliance with the care instructions.

It is useful for healthcare providers to know which data the patient can view in MyKanta. Further information is available on the page Guidance on the use of MyKanta.

Harmonised data entry practices enable utilisation of data

Oral healthcare documents are a key part of the patient records. The documents consist of 

  • free format text set out with headings
  • key structured data in oral healthcare defined at the national level.

Key structured data includes, e.g. 

  • status data of teeth and the mouth area (current status data)
  • examinations
  • indices and measurements related to the current status data 
  • data related to self-care and preliminary details, and procedure data. 

Oral healthcare data is entered from the patient data systems in the Patient Data Repository with identical structures, which makes it easier to find and utilise key treatment data in different healthcare organisations.

Contents have already been recorded in a structured format in oral healthcare (for example, status data). However, joint use of patient data requires that oral healthcare also needs to adopt the new operating models and data entry practices. New features include the outlining of the continuous record with the aid of views and nationally harmonious headings.

Materials for operating models and data entry

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is responsible for the national guidance of the national operating models and structured data entry in oral healthcare. Instruction materials are available on the THL website.

The document entitled Functional specifications for oral health patient record entries describes the structures and data contents of patient record entries and their functionalities in patient data systems processing oral healthcare data. A link to the latest version of the document is available on the oral healthcare definitions page.

THL’s Training materials page (thl.fi, in Finnish and Swedish) contains useful instructions and presentation materials for training events. The page includes, e.g. Operating models for oral healthcare and the presentation materials for Classification of Procedures training, as well as MyKanta instructions for professionals.

Oral data contents entered in Kanta in phases

The data contents of oral healthcare are entered in the Patient Data Repository in phases due to the extent of the data content.

Therefore, all oral healthcare patient data is not entered in the Patient Data Repository straight away, but it has been specified which data will be the first to be archived and which will be archived later. The phases are presented in the following.

Phase 1: Patient record and other data contents

  • STH01, Current status of teeth
  • STH02, Prosthetic structures larger than one tooth
  • STH03, Bite status, display mode
  • STH04, Soft and hard tissue observations, display mode
  • STH06, Preliminary data and self-care in oral healthcare: Number of brushing teeth

Phase 2: More structuredness, corrections and new content

  • STH03, Bite status, structured implementation
  • STH04, Soft and hard tissue observations, structured implementation
  • STH05, Indices and measurements of oral healthcare
  • The definitions of the first stage will also be specified (incl. new codes for prosthetics)

Phase 3: Extensions of the data content and new data contents (the schedule will be specified in the near future)

  • STH06, Preliminary data and self-care in oral healthcare
  • STH07, Orthodontic treatment

When an oral healthcare service provider starts to use the Patient Data Repository, it can archive the data contents that have already been implemented in the patient data system it is using. Data contents of phase 2 can already be archived in the majority of oral healthcare systems.

The situations of individual patient data systems can be checked with the supplier. The situation of joint testing page provides the implementation situation also with regard to patient data systems in oral healthcare. 

Functionalities of the Patient Data Repository in oral healthcare

When an oral healthcare service provider has deployed the Patient Data Repository, it can then expand the use to other functionalities of the Patient Data Repository.

Oral healthcare is subject to the same deployment obligations concerning the functionalities of the Patient Data Repository as other healthcare services.

Naturally, deployment requires that the functionality can be deployed in the patient data system in question. The situation of system preparedness can be checked from the situation of joint testing page or directly from your own system supplier.

Functionalities of the Patient Data Repository include, e.g.

  • outsourcing service authorisation
  • data entry of medical certificates and reports
  • data entry of imaging materials.

Oral healthcare uses different types of outsourcing services, and in the future the use of outsourcing services will probably increase. Authorisation for outsourcing service in the Kanta Services facilitates and speeds up the delivery of treatment data produced in the outsourcing service for the organiser when the data can be entered directly in the organiser’s patient register by virtue of the authorisation.

In oral healthcare, medical certificates and reports can also be entered in the Patient Data Repository. You can check with your own supplier which certificates you can enter in the system already and whether the system enables direct electronic sharing of certificates with Kela.

Imaging documents can also be entered directly in the Patient Data Repository from oral healthcare, for example, X-ray referrals and reports. However, the entry of actual imaging materials is not possible in oral healthcare until at a later date.

Further information

kanta@kanta.fi

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Last updated 12.1.2024