Register of Primary Health Care visits

Register description

Register description, in accordance with the Personal Data Act (523/1999)

Register controller

Name: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
Postal address: PO Box 30
Postcode: FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland
Visiting address: Mannerheimintie 166, Helsinki
Telephone: +358 29 524 6000

Person responsible for the register

Name: Jutta Järvelin
E-mail: [email protected]

Other persons maintaining the register

Name: Kaisa Pyrhönen
E-mail: avohilmo(at)thl.fi

Name: Aleksi Yrttiaho
Telephone: +358 29 524 7671

Name of the register

Register of Primary Health Care Visits

Grounds for maintaining the register

Statutory.
Act on National Personal Records Kept under the Health Care System (556/89)
Decree on National Personal Data Registers Kept under the Health Care System (774/1989), sections 1 and 2, as amended by decree (1671/1993)
Act on the National Institute for Health and Welfare (668/08), section 2

Purpose of the register

The purpose of the register is to produce statutory data the availability and activities of outpatient primary health care for purposes of statistics, research, development, and planning. The register is also used in the monitoring of, for example, infectious diseases, injuries, and health examinations as well as in other THL's tasks.

Data content of the register

The first data recorded in the Register of Primary Health Care Visits are data collected since 2008 from outpatient units taking part in the piloting for the outpatient care data from. Since 2011 the data collection has covered all outpatient primary health care delivered in Finland.
 
Data have been collected on the following contents:

  • service provider in the service event
  • client
  • contact by client
  • assessment of the need for treatment
  • appointment data as well as 
  • data on the content of the service event, such as reason for visit, procedures, and follow-up care.

A guidebook on how to send data to the Avohilmo Register is published annually in Finnish and Swedish (AvoHILMO; Perusterveydenhuollon avohoidon ilmoitus – määrittelyt ja ohjeistus, THL. Luokitukset, termistöt ja tilasto-ohjeet).

Data content of the care notification to the Register of Primary Health Care Visits

Basic data about the service event:

  • Client's personal identity number (encrypted in the register)
  • Client's municipality of residence
  • Postcode of the client's place of residence
  • Service provider
  • Service unit of the service provider
  • Event record code

Data on contact type and assessment of the need for treatment:

  • Date and time of contact
  • Date and time of assessment of the need for treatment
  • Occupation (person assessing the need for treatment)
  • Urgency of care
  • Type of visit
  • Outcome of assessment of the need for treatment

Appointment data:

  • Date and time of appointment booking
  • Date and time of booked appointment
  • Occupation
  • Service type
  • Contact type

Service event data:

  • Date and time, service event starting time
  • Date and time, service event closing time
  • Occupation (person delivering care)
  • Service type
  • Contact type
  • Client group
  • Urgency
  • Type of visit
  • First visit
  • Reasons for visit/diagnoses
  • External cause (accidents)
  • Type of accident
  • Procedures and interventions
  • Vaccination data and medication data
  • Dental health care, DMFT index
  • Dental health care, CPI index

Follow-up care:

  • Service event cancellation
  • Reason for service event cancellation

Regular data sources of the Register, compiling the Register

The Register of Primary Health Care Visits includes data collected from pilot municipalities in 2008–2009. A the national level, the data collection on primary health care in the public sector was started in 2011, covering all health centres in Finland.

Regular disclosure of register data

Disclosure of register data is governed by Section 4 of the Act on National Personal Data Registers Kept under the Health Care System (556/1989), which stipulates that data containing confidential information can only be disclosed for a specific research project and by permission.

Publicity of information and confidentiality

The data stored in the Register are confidential under Section 4 of the Act on National Personal Data Registers Kept under the Health Care System (556/1989).

THL may grant permission to disclose outpatient care register data for specific scientific research purposes under Section 4 of the Act on National Personal Data Registers Kept under the Health Care (556/1989). Prior to the decision to authorise, the Data Protection Ombudsman must be reserved an opportunity to be heard.

Statistical information and data sets stored in the Register can be disclosed, provided that any information classified as confidential has been removed and the data subjects cannot be identified.

Right of access to data

The data subjects and their representatives have no right of access to the data entered into the Register of Primary Health Care Visits, because the data are used solely for research and statistical purposes under section 27(1)(3) of the Personal Data Act (523/1999).

Rectifying erroneous data

Once an error is detected in the care register, efforts are made to correct it in connection with the compilation and maintenance procedures of the register. Data suppliers themselves are usually asked to correct any errors or deficiencies detected in their data.

Principles for securing the data file

Data protection and information security for the register comply with THL's information security policy (THL/957/3.01.00/2011) and any related guidelines.

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