Social care records to be visible to clients in real time

Social care workers in Finland will soon be required to log client records in the national Kanta services by September, making the information visible to clients and their next of kin in real time, according to a report by Yle.

The reform aims to standardise information across the social and healthcare sector, enabling smoother data flow between professionals, authorities, and clients. However, staff at Viola-kotiyhdistys, a care home association, report that the change has significantly increased administrative workload, diverting time from direct client care.

Niina Lahti, executive director of Viola-kotiyhdistys, said that in a 20-resident unit, up to six hours of a carer’s day could be spent on documentation under the new system. “In our 24/7 care, more than one employee’s effort has shifted from the client to administrative tasks,” she said.

Suvi Sillanpää, a close support person at Pellavakoti, noted that carers face daily ethical conflicts, wanting to be more present with clients rather than tied to computer systems. The reform requires separating and logging observations into different systems, sometimes redundantly.

“Every day, we sit down with the carer and go through which observation is what kind of information and where it should be recorded. I understand the clarity of the reform, but it does add extra work for the already busy staff,” Sillanpää said.

Jarno Talvitie, a leading expert at Hyvinvointiala Hali, a representative body for social and healthcare companies and organisations, said concerns have been raised nationally. Private social care services need support and solutions from welfare regions, which themselves face resource constraints in implementing the reforms.

The new client information systems are costly and require months to implement, with the September 1 deadline approaching too quickly for many, Talvitie said.

Training needs have also surged. Viola-kotiyhdistys reports that training costs have doubled since May, with additional training required for documentation and guidance from close support personnel.

The reform also introduces stricter language requirements for social care records. Sillanpää said the shift towards more descriptive and precise language is welcome, as it encourages more detailed observations of clients’ daily lives, moods, and use of resources.