Shared knowledge base for health and social services
THL collects and compiles data on health and social services, such as information on population health, services and access to care. This information supports service development, decision‑making and monitoring of how the service system functions.
Decision‑making in health and social services requires up‑to‑date and reliable information on the wellbeing of the population, the functioning of services and their costs.
A nationally consistent knowledge base is essential for developing the service system. Individual organisations and wellbeing services counties also compile broader data for developing their own operations.
THL serves as the national compiler of the shared knowledge base. By defining data content and ensuring the quality of collected data, we make sure that the information is independent, current and comparable.
We also act as an impartial evaluator of the health and social services system, producing monitoring data, for example, on service availability and effectiveness. A comprehensive knowledge base helps developers and decision‑makers assess how changes in the system affect outcomes.
All data is processed securely and anonymised. Data products are openly available online. Citizens have access to the same THL data products that decision‑makers rely on.
THL processes all personal data solely for the performance of its statutory duties. THL’s registers do not contain, for example, names or personal identity codes. We comply with data protection legislation and ensure appropriate information security in data processing. None of THL’s published data products can be used to identify an individual or infer personal information.
THL’s role as compiler and producer of data
THL compiles data on health and social services under its statutory tasks. Our responsibilities include maintaining registers and data repositories in the health and social services sector.
We collect data from several sources:
- public and private health and social services organisations submit data stored in their systems
- service and care records created during client encounters, as well as financial data, are provided to THL
- organisations also report information on how services are organised.
Our aim is that organisations can submit data to THL as automatically and effortlessly as possible through the THL Data Submission Service (TTP) or database replication. Separate manual data deliveries will gradually be discontinued. A significant share of social welfare service data is already obtained through the Kanta Services.
Register data is obtained from the Kanta Services under separate agreements. THL receives financial and cost data from the State Treasury and, for example, payroll data for social and health care personnel from Statistics Finland. Municipality‑specific information is also obtained from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The Licensing and Supervisory Authority provides THL with information on the qualifications of health and social care professionals.
In addition to register data, we also collect population and research data to ensure that the knowledge base is comprehensive. Uniform and reliable data supports service development, equality assessment and system sustainability.
As a national statistical authority, THL participates in international statistical cooperation. THL also acts as Finland’s coordinator for the European Health Data Space (EHDS). EHDS will establish a common framework for the use and exchange of health data in EU countries by the end of the 2020s.
Statistics, registers, indicators and data products supporting decision‑making
THL refines the collected data into source‑specific statistical and register datasets, whose quality is ensured together with the organisations that supply the data.
THL produces and publishes a wide range of data products, including statistics, indicators and in‑depth analyses on specific phenomena.
Summary views are also published from the extensive data resources, such as the Core Data for Monitoring, Evaluation and Steering (SAO) and the Strategic Situation Overview for Management (JST), which together form the knowledge base for the strategic steering of wellbeing services counties.
THL conducts annual evaluations of wellbeing services counties, drawing on its extensive knowledge base and register data. Open and up‑to‑date information enhances transparency in decision‑making.
All data products are openly available online. Citizens have access to the same information used by decision‑makers.
Explore data products
Towards broader data resources
Research, monitoring and evaluation require broader datasets than individual registers in order to capture the different perspectives related to the phenomenon under examination.
THL assembles broader health and social services datasets by combining and enriching register data. THL’s objective is to build a foundation for an expanded national wellbeing and health and social services data repository.
In addition to publicly available data products, the register datasets maintained by THL can be accessed for research, statistical and development purposes if the intended use meets the permit conditions. Findata grants permits for the secondary use of social and health data and compiles and delivers the permitted datasets securely to researchers and other authorised users.
Findata website
Data collection, submission and use at THL
THL compiles data on population health and wellbeing, the use of health and social services, access to care, costs and the effectiveness of services. Data is collected from multiple sources.
Sources include client and patient information systems used by health and social services organisations, as well as national data repositories. This information is complemented with population surveys targeted at citizens. Separate, topic‑specific data collections may also be directed to organisations.
Common data structures and definitions enable data from different sources to be combined and compared.
Wellbeing services counties and other actors—such as Kela, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and private health and social services organisations—have a statutory obligation to provide data to THL.
The legal obligation to provide data is specified in administrative decisions issued by THL. These decisions define the data providers, the necessary data content and the method of delivery. Data submission is carried out using secure technical solutions that ensure data protection and information security.
Administrative decisions
THL receives data for the national knowledge base primarily via the THL Data Submission Service (TTP) or through database replication. THL continuously develops its data collection processes so that information is transferred as smoothly and automatically as possible. Separate manual data collections are being reduced. THL is also improving data transmission through the Kanta Services.
In population surveys where information is collected directly from citizens, respondents can choose between multiple response methods: online forms, paper forms or interviews.
Data submitted to THL is used not only for statutory monitoring and reporting but also—when permitted—for the secondary use of health and social data.
For secondary use, data can be utilised in research, statistics and development activities, provided that the intended use meets the permit requirements. Findata, the national data permit authority, grants permits for the secondary use of social and health data and compiles and delivers the data securely to researchers and other authorised users.