The following are details of your rights regarding prescriptions.
Right to be informed about the Prescription service
Patients must be informed about
- their rights
- parties to which their prescription details can be disclosed and under what conditions
- how they can control the movement of their information
- operational principles of the data processing systems and their administrators
- how their details entered in Prescription Centre are protected
- MyKanta and how to log into the service.
The information can be provided by a healthcare receptionist, nurse or doctor. The procedures vary according to the service provider. The information must be given verbally, in writing or via online service.
Information regarding a prescription to be filled at a foreign pharmacy is given when you buy medicine from a pharmacy.
Right to refuse the disclosure of prescription details
If you wish, you may restrict the use of your prescription data stored in Kanta with a denial of consent to prescription data sharing. You can issue and cancel your denial of consent to data sharing on the MyKanta or when you visit your health care service provider.
Right to be informed of the result of a renewal request
You have the right to be informed on whether your prescription has been renewed, your request rejected or the prescription has expired. You can enquire about the status of the renewed prescription at a pharmacy or healthcare unit one week after the request was made.
You can also receive the information on a renewed prescription or its refusal by text message. For this purpose, leave your mobile phone number at the time of the renewal request in MyKanta, at the pharmacy or healthcare unit.
The text message is sent to the number given by the patient, so check that it is correct when submitting a renewal request. The text message is sent by Prescription Centre and it contains the name of the medicine.
If a prescription cannot be renewed, the healthcare service provider is obliged to inform you about it.
Right to inspect your prescription details
You have the right to
- check the details entered about you in Prescription Centre
- obtain details of persons who have handled and viewed your information
- demand that incorrect information is amended.
Inspection request to Kela
If you wish to inspect the details of prescriptions entered in Prescription Centre, you can send an inspection request to Kela.
You can view the details entered in Prescription Centre
- on a patient instruction sheet
- a prescriptions summary
- MyKanta or
- an inspection request report.
You have the right to obtain the information free of charge once a year. If it is less than a year since the previous request, Kela can make a charge for the costs incurred by providing the information.
If Kela refuses the patient's right to inspect, it will issue the patient with a certificate of refusal showing the reason for the refusal.
Prescription log data
In MyKanta, you can see which service providers have browsed and processed your prescription data.
In addition to the details about the service provider, you have the right to know who has processed your data entered in the Prescription Centre. Kela is the joint controller of the Prescription Centre, in which case the log data request of an e-prescription is delivered to Kela in writing.
The log data report shows
- the persons in the social and healthcare services who have handled the patient's prescription details
- the reason why the prescription details have been handled.
You will receive the prescription log data for the past two years if you have given no special reason for their disclosure for a longer period.
If you request the same data again, you will receive them only if there is a justifiable reason in order that your interests or rights are fulfilled. Kela can make a charge for reprovided information.
If you consider on the basis of the prescription log data that your prescription data has been processed without a valid reason, you can request the pharmacy or healthcare and social welfare service provider in question for clarification regarding the matter.
If the party handling the prescription details is a foreign pharmacy, you can send an investigation request to Kela.
You can submit an inspection or log data request either on the official form or in free format.
The forms are also available from the healthcare services, pharmacies and Kela’s customer service points.
Please send the request to Kela, Registry, P.O. Box 450, 00056 KELA.
Right to have incorrect prescription details amended
You have the right to demand rectification of incorrect prescription data. If there is an error in the data of your prescription, ask the healthcare or social welfare service provider or pharmacy who made the entry to rectify it.
If the social or healthcare unit or pharmacy is unable to amend the incorrect prescription detail, send a written demand for amendment to Kela. Address the amendment request to Kela also if the incorrect prescription entry was made in a foreign pharmacy. If it is not possible to agree to the amendment request, Kela will issue a certificate of refusal, citing the reason.
Deleting and transferring prescription details
In order that Kela's statutory obligation is fulfilled, you have no right to
- delete your information entered in Prescription Centre
- transfer your information from one system to another.
Prescription data is stored for 12 years after a person's death or 120 years after the person's birth if the date of death is not known, or if the patient is a child who was under the age of 18 at the time of death, after which the data is destroyed.