At present, patients can get copies of their records by requesting them from the facility where they have been treated. Traditionally, they have arrived by mail. Within a couple of years, a new service is to be introduced that will allow patients to access their records and medical prescriptions online.
Marianne Eronen, who is a pediatric cardiologist and a member of the Health and Social Affairs Ministry working group dealing with the development of the system, says that it could be a threat to patient welfare.
"This is a matter of patient safety, because this new access may make it easier for a patient, for example, to prevent information that he or she is not comfortable with from being transferred from one doctor to another, and so interrupt the treatment process," she says.
Flood of questions
The right of patients to withhold information is nothing new. The online service will only make it easier.
Eronen sees other potential problems.
"When people read their own medical histories and the doctors' comments they start asking questions because, of course, they cannot understand everything that is written in professional terms. In such cases, the patient must have the opportunity to get answers. In principle, healthcare units will be obligated to answer the questions, but this is the kind of thing that hasn't been considered at the moment," points out Marianne Eronen.
Anne Kallio, chief of development at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, doesn't consider this a problem. According to Kallio, these matters should be made clear to patients already at the doctor's office.
"These should be discussed thoroughly at the care facility, so that the information the patient gets from the net is understandable," argues Kallio.
Ministry officials also point out that the Finnish Medical Society has already created a layman's guide to medical terminology that will help patients reading their own medical files. However, she does understand criticism by doctors.
"Of course, this is a change in the situation for both doctors and the public and it has to be dealt with. There are always doubts before changes are made," says Anne Kallio.
As a representative of the medical profession, Marianne Eronen admits that the new system may put more pressure on doctors, for example concerning what they write in medical history files.
"It's true that there will probably be more attention given to these kinds of things," notes Eronen