Medical records in Finland
Please ensure that information concerning your treatment is transferred between treatment providers if you receive treatment in Finland or if your further treatment takes place abroad. In Finland, medical records are stored in the Patient Data Repository.
When seeking treatment in Finland, find out which medical records the treatment provider needs and which language (Finnish, Swedish or English) should be used. Ensure that the documents are translated and submitted to the unit providing the treatment.
The necessary medical records may include, for example, a referral and an epicrisis that contain the information on your illnesses and the treatment and procedures that you have undergone. The treatment provider may also require responses from different examinations, such as laboratory examinations, imaging and X-rays.
After the treatment period, you will receive a summary in Finnish or Swedish that contains information on your illnesses, the treatment that you have received and any orders concerning further treatment. If your follow-up treatment takes place abroad, ensure that the documents are translated and that the information is passed to the party responsible for your follow-up treatment. You can also discuss with the possibility of delivering the treatment summary or another type of summary document concerning your treatment in another language, such as in English.
Patient documents are stored in the Patient Data Repository
In Finland, a health care professional will update the medical records with any information that is necessary for the treatment. Medical records will also be updated with each service event. The medical record updates, referrals and treatment summaries must be prepared within five days from the end of each service event.
Patient documents are stored in electronic format in Finland. Health care professionals record the patient data in the Patient Data Repository maintained by Kela. This repository will gradually expanded to cover all health care service providers. The Kanta.fi service contains information on those health care units that are already recording their patient data in the Patient Data Repository. The medical records are usually preserved for 12 years after the person’s death.
The data of a patient arriving from abroad is recorded and stored in the Patient Data Repository in the same manner as the data for patients who reside in Finland. You have the right to receive your own patient data from the treatment provider.
If you have a Finnish personal identity code and the needed identifiers (online banking credentials, Mobile ID or electronic ID card), you can view your own patient data in the My Kanta service. The service also allows you to allow or deny the use of your patient data in different health care units and to record advance health care directives and to register as an organ donor.
Patient data is confidential
The information recorded in the medical records is confidential. The health care provider who produced the patient data can view it without the patient’s consent if it has a care relationship with the patient. With your approval, your patient data can be handed over to another health care provider in order to ensure that your treatment continues correctly in Finland.