Request for opinions: changes to the scope of patient information archiving

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is asking for opinions on a proposal that the National Archives of Finland could make a screening decision on the permanent retention of public healthcare patient information.

In practice, the National Archives could determine the extent to which patient information is archived in the future. Opinions can be submitted from 29 February to 30 April 2024.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a new proposal on the screening of patient information for the National Archives. The current screening process is based on sampling on the basis of birthdays, where only the patient information of persons born on certain dates is archived. However, the method does not meet the needs of research and does not take into account, for example, the possibilities of technology in the processing of large data sets.

The aim of the screening is to recover a significant part of the documented cultural heritage in an appropriate and usable form. The proposal envisions that, in the future, the patient information of the entire population will be archived more comprehensively in public healthcare. 

The proposal concerns textual patient information in public healthcare. A separate proposal will be submitted later regarding the screening of image data, while a proposal on the screening of social welfare client information is planned to be submitted in the future.

The proposal does not cover the patient information of private service providers. According to the current Archives Act, the National Archives may only order the archiving of patient information of public bodies.

Feedback in the form of opinions will be taken into account in the further preparation of the proposal.

• The request for opinions at lausuntopalvelu.fi (in Finnish)

Inquiries

Anna Sandberg, Senior Specialist [email protected], tel. +358 295 163 702