📋 Tender Overview
The Act on the Processing of Client Data in Social Welfare and Health Care (Customer Data Act) will be amended. The Government proposed that the relevant legislation be ratified on Thursday 6.6. The President of the Republic is expected to ratify the acts on Friday 7.6.
The deadlines for joining the Kanta service for social welfare will be extended by two years so that social welfare service providers must join the Kanta service no later than 1.9.2026. The deadlines will be postponed because the wellbeing services counties are still in the process of acquiring and implementing new information systems. The change in the transition period will ensure that no significant investments need to be made in information systems that will be phased out.
Provisions on the right of social welfare professionals working in health care to receive information on patients' Kela benefits will be added to the Act on the Protection of Customer Data. This would ensure that patients can be provided with the necessary advice and guidance on benefits related to their state of health. In addition, healthcare service providers will have the right to disclose patient data to service providers agreed with patients if patient data is deemed necessary for organising and implementing health services. Patient data could be disclosed directly on the basis of the law without separate consent or permission to disclose.
In addition, other amendments and technical corrections will be made to the Customer Data Act, the Act on the National Institute for Health and Welfare and the Child Welfare Act, such as clarifications to the definition of a service provider and the implementation of the right to information through an information system.
The acts are expected to enter into force on 1.7.2024.
Customer Data Act
The Act on the Protection of Customer Data, which entered into force at the beginning of 2024, includes provisions previously included in various acts and decrees concerning the processing of client data in healthcare and social welfare, client documents and information systems. The regulation of the processing of customer data has been harmonised, for example, with regard to the recording of customer data and the disclosure of rights of access and data.
The Customer Data Act obliges social welfare service providers to join the national Kanta services. In addition, the Act enables the disclosure of social welfare client data to other social welfare service providers through the Kanta Services.
The Customer Data Act includes transition periods for when customer and patient documents must be stored in the Kanta Services at the latest.
