How patient records from private service providers who have ceased operations are archived at Kela

Kela began archiving paper patient records from healthcare providers and self-employed professionals at the beginning of 2019. The archival service is provided free of charge for the time being.

The service is available to small private healthcare units that have ceased operations and have not reassigned their archival function to another provider. Temporary storage of patient records is not possible.

At present, Kela does not accept documents from occupational health service providers. A committee under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is drawing up guidelines for the archival of occupational healthcare documents. Once the guidelines have been finalised, Kela will decide on a policy for occupational healthcare documents.

Kela also does not currently accept documents from service providers in the social welfare sector.

A written agreement is drawn up before documents are transferred

The service provider or its representative makes an agreement with Kela on the reassignment of the archival function before any documents are transferred.

The point of contact for all agreement-related matters is the following email address: toimintansa.lopettaneet(at)kela.fi. Kela’s customer service points are not authorised to make the agreement.

Transferral and transportation of records is subject to mutual agreement

The transportation arrangements and the time of handover of the documents are agreed once Kela and the service provider have signed an agreement. The documents shall be transferred in a way that protects the legal rights of the service provider and the patients and ensures data protection.

Archived documents are accepted by designated Kela offices

Once the agreement has been signed, archived documents may be submitted to Kela-designated offices. The documents are received in spring 2019 according to a geographically staggered schedule. The service provider is responsible for arranging and paying for the transportation of the material to the Kela office.

The archive of medical records is located at the Kela main office in Helsinki. Kela is responsible for transporting the material from the receiving offices to Helsinki. Service providers may also agree with Kela to send the material directly to Helsinki. In that case, the sender arranges and pays for the transportation.

Material may be delivered to Kela for archival also after 2019.

Kela assumes responsibility for materials once it has acknowledged receipt

Responsibility for materials is transferred to Kela once it has acknowledged receipt of them. Materials must not be delivered to Kela offices unless an agreement has been signed and the transmission of the materials has been agreed. Personnel in charge of the transmission are only available at the offices at agreed-upon times.

Kela is responsible for archival and handles requests for data available in the medical records

Kela is responsible for the archival of medical records turned over by service providers and for their appropriate destruction after the storage period has expired. The policy on replying to requests for data is specified in the agreement between Kela and the service provider.

Contacts and questions concerning the archival of medical records

All contacts and questions should be directed to toimintansa.lopettaneet(at)kela.fi.

Please provide your contact details (name, address and telephone number), the office to which you deliver the materials, and your preferred date for the transferral of the materials. Where appropriate, also state the service provider(s) whose material you are delivering.

Kela will send a draft release agreement for your review as well as issue written instructions for how to process, package and deliver the materials to Kela.

Further information on the handling of medical records