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The national health and social services reform will bring changes to the sharing of patient and client data

Notice - Professionals Written on 5.12.2022 All notices

Social and health care professionals in the wellbeing service counties will, when necessary, have wider access to patient and client data than before. In order to provide treatment smoothly, it is important that professionals have comprehensive and up-to-date information about the client.

Most of the wellbeing services counties are formed through merging several public service providers in the area. Each wellbeing services county will maintain its own registers for health care patient data and social welfare client data.

Health care patient and prescription data can be utilised throughout the wellbeing services county when providing treatment. Similarly, social welfare client data can be utilised in social services throughout the wellbeing services county. It is not yet possible to share data between the social welfare and health care sectors through the Kanta Services.

Professionals may only view the data when providing treatment or a service

In order to provide treatment smoothly, it is important that professionals have comprehensive and up-to-date information about the client. Data can be used only by those professionals with whom a person has a client or treatment relationship and who have the right to access the data to perform their duties. Professionals may only view the information necessary for the provision of treatment or a service.

The My Kanta Pages serves residents in wellbeing services counties

Citizens will continue to be able to view their own data on the My Kanta Pages, including if they move from one wellbeing services county to another.

Citizens can also manage the sharing of their data on the My Kanta Pages. The launch of the wellbeing services counties will not affect the functionalities of the My Kanta Pages.

Citizens can have a say in how their data is used by giving or withdrawing consent to data sharing

Once a citizen has given their consent to the sharing of data stored in Kanta Services, their data may be shared, for example, with another wellbeing services county or between a public and private service provider.

Consent to data sharing may be given separately for health care patient data and, from early next year, for social services client data.

Citizens can set up a denial of consent to the sharing of their patient and prescription data to determine which of their data may be shared, for example, with another wellbeing services county or between public and private health care. Setting up a denial of consent cannot prevent the sharing of patient data within a wellbeing services county.

From the beginning of 2023, social welfare service providers will also be able to share client data through the Kanta Services once the necessary changes have been made to the client information system. Once these changes have been complete, citizens may restrict the sharing of their social services client data by setting up a denial of consent to data sharing. Setting up a denial of consent cannot prevent the sharing of social services client data within a wellbeing services county.

In the region of Uusimaa, patient data can be shared once the patient has received information about Kanta Services

From the turn of the year, service providers in the region of Uusimaa will be given a temporary right to access to data. Public health care service providers in the region of Uusimaa may share patient data with each other without the patient's consent.

However, this right of access is subject to the patient’s acknowledgement of having received information about the Kanta Services, which describes, among other things, the temporary right of access to information within the region of Uusimaa. If a citizen does not wish their patient data to be shared within Uusimaa, data sharing can be restricted by setting up a denial of consent.

Due to the changes related to the wellbeing services counties, information about the Kanta Services will be reissued to all citizens as of 22.11.2022.

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