There are different ways to manage another person’s prescriptions. The affairs you can manage and how you can manage them depends on your location and the role you have in managing the other person’s affairs.
Collecting medicine from a pharmacy on behalf of another person
Another person can collect a medicine for you from a pharmacy by presenting either your prescription with patient instructions or your Kela card. If the person is using your Kela card to collect your medication, they must know the information of the medicine they are collecting for you.
You can also grant the person collecting your medication an electronic mandate to use pharmacy services in the Suomi.fi online service. When using a mandate to manage your affairs, the person collecting your medication must know your personal identity code.
Managing other prescription matters on behalf of another person
Managing other affairs at the pharmacy requires one of the following:
- An e-Authorization to use pharmacy services (suomi.fi)
- written authorisation.
A person that you have authorised can do the following on your behalf at a pharmacy:
- find out the medicines you are using
- ask for a summary of the medications you are taking
- request that your prescription be invalidated when you no longer need the medicine
- request for your prescription to be renewed.
The pharmacy verifies the identity of the person acting on behalf of the patient and their right to act on behalf of the patient.
Written authorisation
Written authorisation forms are available at
- pharmacies
- health care service units
- Kela service points.
You can grant written authorisation to home care services or an assisted living facility employee, for example. These people will then be able to manage your prescriptions.
The written authorisation form also enables the person to act on someone else’s behalf at a hospital pharmacy.
Pharmacies and health care units will provide advice on the use of the authorisation form.
In healthcare services, prescriptions can only be managed on behalf of another person if you have written authorisation.
Written authorisation forms are available at
- pharmacies
- health care service units
- Kela service points.
You can grant written authorisation to home care services or an assisted living facility employee, for example. These people will then be able to manage your prescriptions.
Pharmacies and health care units will provide advice on the use of the authorisation form.
The health care service unit verifies the identity of the person acting on behalf of the patient and their right to act on behalf of the patient.
Acting on behalf of a minor in prescription matters
A guardian may manage the prescriptions of their minors in MyKanta, in health care services and at pharmacies.
A legal guardian can also manage prescriptions in health care services and at pharmacies, if they are assigned to manage the health affairs of a minor.
The guardian or legal guardian can manage nearly all matters related to a minor’s prescription. However, they cannot issue or withdraw a denial of consent to data sharing for a prescription.
When a guardian or legal guardian visits a pharmacy, they will need the minor’s Kela card or the prescription with patient instructions. If the guardian does not have these with them, the custody relationship and the right to purchase the medicine can be verified at the pharmacy using the Suomi.fi service. This requires
- the minor’s personal identity code
- the guardian’s photo ID or driver’s licence.