Findata is a Health and Social Data Permit Authority, a one-stop shop for the secondary use of health and social data.
Findata operates under the performance guidance of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry appoints both a separate director for the organisation and a steering group.
The Findata management group is responsible for managing the operations of the data permit authority. The Findata management group includes the Director, Head of Data Services, Head of ICT, Legal Advisor and Head of Communications.
Objectives
The objectives of Findata are to:
- Improve data security and the data protection of individuals.
- Speed up and streamline the utilisation of social welfare and health care data resources.
- Decrease the duplication of work in permit processing.
- Develop data descriptions for the social welfare and health care sector together with the controllers.
Guidance and supervision
The steering group guides and develops Findata’s operations. The members of the steering group have been appointed from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the Population Register Centre, Statistics Finland, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea, and representatives of social welfare and health care service providers.
Findata’s operations are supervised by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Data Protection Ombudsman, among others. The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira monitors Findata’s data secure user environments. In addition, Findata must give an annual report to the Data Protection Ombudsman regarding the processing of health and social data and the related log data.