Findata is the Health and Social Data Permit Authority, and its activities are based on the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data (552/2019). Findata improves the data security of data materials containing health and social data and enables more efficient utilisation of these materials.
Findata operates in conjunction with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare but separately from the Institute’s other activities. The authority’s operation is initiated stepwise.
More information on the Act on the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s website: Secondary use of health and social data (opens in a new window)
What Findata does?
Findata is responsible for processing and deciding on the application when the application for a data permit or a data request concerns:
- data from several different public controllers are combined (* see exceptions under Delegated authorizations)
- data from one or more private social or health care providers, or
- data that are stored in Kanta services.
More information on the processing of pending applications filed with individual controllers is available here: Further information on the processing of pending applications.
Uses permitted under the law are:
- scientific research
- statistics
- development and innovation operations
- planning and reporting duty of an authority
- education
- knowledge management.
Access to statistical data subject to a data request
Access to statistical data can be provided for all purposes specified in the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data. A data utilisation plan is required for access to data sets.
Remote access to data subject to a data permit
Findata may provide data for use in a remote access system for a fixed period of time. The data has been anonymised or pseudonymised.
Access via a remote access system will be possible for all other purposes referred to in the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data except for development and innovation.
A data utilisation plan is required for access to data sets.
Which data sets can be accessed by sending an application to Findata?
Authorities and organisations responsible for the services and restrictions on data sets are specified in the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data, Section 6. Thus, Findata does not issue permits for the data of all controllers. You can read more about data set limitations here.
Data controllers under the Act below. See: Who is responsible for processing the application and granting permits
- Social and health care operating units
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (does not apply to data collected for statistical purposes)
- Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela (benefits and prescriptions)
- Data saved in Kanta Services
- Finnish Centre for Pensions (work and earnings data, benefits and the bases for them)
- National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira
- Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (occupational illnesses, exposure tests)
- Regional state administrative agencies (matters related to social welfare and health care)
- Digital and Population Data Services Agency (individual’s basic details, family relations, places of residence and building information)
- Statistics Finland (to the extent that access is required to data covered by the Act on Establishing the Cause of Death 459/1973).
Findata’s operation was initiated stepwise
- 1 January 2020, the reception of data requests began (statistical data).
- 1 April 2020, the reception of data permit applications began (personal data).
- 1 January 2021 Application of the Act on the Secondary Use of Social and Health Data to Kanta Services began.