Minors using My Kanta Pages — EU Digital COVID Certificate available as printout from healthcare if necessary

Minor children may use the My Kanta Pages themselves to view, for example, their EU Digital COVID Certificates, if they have the electronic identification tools required for this purpose. If necessary, the Certificate is also available as a paper version from the healthcare service.

However, there is variation as to what information on minors is viewable in the My Kanta Pages or patient data systems. For this reason, healthcare units must prepare an operating model for providing minors with a printout of their EU Digital COVID Certificate and have their patient data systems updated with regard to the functionality that allows custodians to act on behalf of their minor children.

Minors using healthcare services

If a minor is considered mature enough, they can decide on their own care. This decision is made separately in each case and it depends on the matter at hand. Healthcare professionals make an assessment in the case, and an entry of this assessment is then made in the patient records. If the minor can decide on their own care, they can also decide whether the patient records related to the healthcare visit can be viewed by the custodian.

However, there are still many patient data systems where assessments made by healthcare professionals cannot be recorded. In this case, patient records cannot be shown to custodians. In general, people under ten years of age are rarely mature enough to decide on their own care. Because of this, the records concerning them can be shown to their custodians unless this is specifically blocked. 

Minors using My Kanta Pages

Minor children may use the My Kanta Pages themselves if they have the electronic identifications tools required for this purpose. They can view, for example, their EU Digital COVID Certificates. 

Logging in to the My Kanta Pages service requires electronic identification, such as online banking codes. However, most banks issue these codes only to children aged 15 and over. It is also possible to log in to the service using a mobile certificate.

Minors can also log in to the service using the Citizen Certificate stored on their identity card. Before the Citizen Certificate on the person’s identity card can be used for online services, the Certificate needs to be activated first. In Finland identity cards are issued by the police and abroad by Finnish missions. Public Service Info, which is an advice service for users of public services, gives advice on how to use the Citizen Certificate.

In addition to the identity card, the user needs an electronic card reader and card reader software installed in their computer. 

Information on minors viewable to custodians

In the My Kanta Pages service, custodians are able to view information on their children who are under the age of 10. Information on children aged 10 or over are shown to their custodians if the patient data system used by the healthcare organisation in question includes a functionality which allows to make a record of minors’ decision-making capacity and their consent to the disclosure of information. 

The requirement for giving custodians access to this information is that the information on minors’ decision-making capacity and their wish to allow their custodians to view their information is recorded in the patient data system. 

However, this functionality is not yet widely used in healthcare. So far only 10 per cent of public healthcare organisations have started using the functionality that enables custodians to view information on their minor children. Healthcare organisations can decide themselves when to introduce this functionality. The Kanta Services support healthcare organisations in introducing the functionality, and healthcare professionals are given training in the new operating model, for example. Despite this, the progress made in introducing the functionality is slow. 

Exceptional situations where information on minors is not shown to custodians

At present, custodians are not able to act on behalf of their minor children in the My Kanta Pages if an entry has been made in the Population Information System stating that there is a shared care agreement or order concerning not only the child’s residential arrangements but also other arrangements. This will change at the end of this year. In future, custodians who have made an agreement on shared parental responsibilities will also be able to act on behalf of their minor children in the My Kanta Pages.

The impact which non-disclosure for personal safety reasons has on the use of the My Kanta Pages will also be alleviated at the end of this year. At present, only custodians who themselves are under non-disclosure for personal safety reasons may act on behalf of their children in the My Kanta Pages. In future, each custodian may authorise the custodian who is not under non-disclosure for personal safety reasons to act on their child’s behalf. However, custodians will not be able to act on behalf of their children in the My Kanta Pages if their children are subject to non-disclosure for personal safety reasons.

EU Digital COVID Certificate available as printout from healthcare service

If minors themselves or their custodians cannot access the My Kanta Pages to view the information stored in the service or to print out the EU Digital COVID Certificate, it is possible to get a printout of the Certificate from the healthcare service. The printing service is used in most public healthcare organisations.

The Certificate must be requested from the healthcare unit that administered the vaccine or conducted the COVID-19 test.

If the printing service is not used by the person’s own healthcare organisation, it is possible to ask for the Certificate from a neighbouring municipality. If, however, the person does not have a personal identity code but an identification code, only the healthcare unit that administered the vaccine can issue the Certificate. 

The healthcare service must decide on an operating model as to how it can provide minors with a printout of their EU Digital COVID Certificate easily.  

Inquiries

Anna Kärkkäinen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, firstname.lastname@gov.fi
Mia Mustonen, Lead Product Owner, Kanta Services, Social Insurance Institution of Finland, firstname.lastname@kela.fi
Teemu Tukiainen, Development Manager, Digital and Population Data Services Agency, teemu.tukiainen@dvv.fi