Half of the Finnish population accessed their own data: comprehensive access to personal health information online is a corner-stone of digital revolution in Finnish health and social care

Abstract

In Finland, the implementation of the national Kanta services’ second phase was carried out step by step from May 2010 to December 2017. My Kanta Pages, launched in 2010, is an online service where citizens can browse their own health information recorded in the Prescription Centre and the Patient Data Repository regardless of whether the healthcare services they had used were public or private. It is the patient accessible national electronic health records in Finland (PAEHR). The study objective was to investigate the use of the national PAEHR by using indicator data from 2010 to 2018. Cumulatively 2.8 million (M) persons (51% of the Finnish population, and 63% of the adults at least 18 year old) had accessed the PAEHR 23.2M times (49.2M sign-ins) by 31 December 2018. Altogether, 6.0M e-prescription renewal request were sent to healthcare via the PAEHR by 31 December 2018. Patient Data Management Service was implemented as part of the Patient Data Repository. By 31 December 2018, the Patient Data Management Service had records of 6.3M information notices, 3.3M consents and 93,732 refusals (consent restrictions). In addition, the Patient Data Management Service had records of 467,055 organ donation testaments and 93,484 living wills. Half of the Finnish population in general, and two out of three adults had used the national PAEHR by 31 December 2018. Since nine years after its launch, the adults’ use of the Finnish national PAEHR is still increasing and is approaching 50% annual use.