Social welfare and health care data and information reform 2005. Working group report. English summary
Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö
2004
Julkaisusarja:
Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön työryhmämuistioita - Social- och hälsovårdsministeriets promemorior - Working group memorandums of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: 2004:12This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201504224245Tiivistelmä
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health set up on 24 April 2002 a Working Group to prepare a proposal for a national social welfare and health care data and information system to be introduced at the beginning of 2005 comprising the corporate data and information of statistics, registers, regularly repeated studies and separate surveys. The system should take into account new data and information needs, the possibilities entailed by data technology, information service, and data security provisions. The system is meant to present the achievement of the objectives set for social and health policy and support the related decision-making. The Working Group was assigned to look at those issues from the point of view of the citizens and clients, municipalities, joint municipal boards and other service providers. Changes in international data needs should also be taken into account. The Working Group had a steering group that co-ordinated the work of the four sub-groups and prepared the proposal for the information and data service system on the basis of the sub-groups’ proposals. The sub-groups focused on the service system and its effectiveness, income security, the well-being of the population, and the health of the population. Their reports have been published separately.
In the opinion of the Working Group the present data and information production in the sector and its labour division is mostly workable. In some respects the Working Group suggests changes in the data production. The use of data can be promoted by increasing co-operation, establishing a specific data portal for in social welfare and health care, producing easy-to-use compiled statistics and publications on different themes and by enhancing instruction in the use of data. By the year 2010 the data production within social welfare and health care will be based on electronic data collection from the patient and client records. They enable production of data on non-residential social and health care, service chains and a more rapid and easy data production in particular regarding the activities of the local authorities. The use of electronic documents and production of comparable data presupposes definition of the central terms. The sector needs at regular intervals population surveys; part of the data is produced through health examinations. The sector has inadequate data of children and young people, out-patient primary health care, in some respects of non-residential social welfare services and services for older people. All data in social welfare and health care should be provided by gender, as far as possible. The Working Group considers that the data needed in decision-making by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, other related authorities and local authorities and in performance of their duties that is produced by public funds must be available free of charge to the relevant authorities. The data needed in steering by information and making of surveys must be, as a rule, available free of charge. The most important data must also be accessible free of charge to citizens, professionals and the media. A charge corresponding to the amount of work can be collected for additional expenses caused by transfer and working up of data or other measures. According to the Working Group more attention must be paid to data needs at the stage of preparing the legislation, budget and other documents used as tools of guidance so as to enable the assessment of their impact and implementation. Part of the proposals of the Working Group can be implemented by the resources provided under the action and economic plans by prioritising and targeting actions. Several significant objects of development in data and information production however require additional resources.
In the opinion of the Working Group the present data and information production in the sector and its labour division is mostly workable. In some respects the Working Group suggests changes in the data production. The use of data can be promoted by increasing co-operation, establishing a specific data portal for in social welfare and health care, producing easy-to-use compiled statistics and publications on different themes and by enhancing instruction in the use of data. By the year 2010 the data production within social welfare and health care will be based on electronic data collection from the patient and client records. They enable production of data on non-residential social and health care, service chains and a more rapid and easy data production in particular regarding the activities of the local authorities. The use of electronic documents and production of comparable data presupposes definition of the central terms. The sector needs at regular intervals population surveys; part of the data is produced through health examinations. The sector has inadequate data of children and young people, out-patient primary health care, in some respects of non-residential social welfare services and services for older people. All data in social welfare and health care should be provided by gender, as far as possible. The Working Group considers that the data needed in decision-making by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, other related authorities and local authorities and in performance of their duties that is produced by public funds must be available free of charge to the relevant authorities. The data needed in steering by information and making of surveys must be, as a rule, available free of charge. The most important data must also be accessible free of charge to citizens, professionals and the media. A charge corresponding to the amount of work can be collected for additional expenses caused by transfer and working up of data or other measures. According to the Working Group more attention must be paid to data needs at the stage of preparing the legislation, budget and other documents used as tools of guidance so as to enable the assessment of their impact and implementation. Part of the proposals of the Working Group can be implemented by the resources provided under the action and economic plans by prioritising and targeting actions. Several significant objects of development in data and information production however require additional resources.