Finnish Institute: Our Data is FAIR
- TRANSFORMERS.health
- May 21, 2024
- GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION
- data
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At the Radical Health Festival in Helsinki, Sirpa Soini, Director and Chief Data Officer of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), emphasized the significance of the FAIR data principles – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Finland’s comprehensive approach to health data management leverages these principles to enhance patient care, inform decision-making, and monitor nationwide health trends effectively.
Soini highlighted the importance of making health data usable for various stakeholders, including patients, health professionals, and decision-makers. “The data should be usable for patient care, for health professionals, for decision makers to make better decisions and monitor how things are going throughout the country,” she stated.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare has a rich history of data collection and management, playing a crucial role in maintaining extensive registries such as the cancer registry established in 1953, and conducting nationwide surveys and health check-ups. The institute’s efforts ensure that reliable information, data products, and nationwide health and welfare data are available for multiple purposes.
Comprehensive health and welfare data management
THL collects data directly from schools, pupils, and Finnish residents, ensuring a representative dataset from both urban and rural areas. The institute also provides guidance on data collection, mandates reporting for health professionals, and facilitates data sharing across society. By maintaining extensive national registries and biobanks, THL collaborates with other authorities and stakeholders to ensure high-quality data for research and policy-making.
Finland’s legislative framework and cultural ethos promote data sharing, preventing data silos. Recent government programs emphasize digitalization and the use of modern technologies like AI to enhance healthcare delivery and monitoring. Collaboration among various stakeholders, including the Kela Social Security Institute, healthcare professionals, and IT suppliers, ensures data interoperability and high quality.
The researchers understand the value of sharing the data so that they don’t put it in their own honeypots and decide themselves who can use it.
Soini also highlighted Finland’s focus on social determinants of health, acknowledging that factors beyond medical care impact health outcomes. Finland’s innovative efforts include developing data lakes and AI solutions in well-being counties to improve data analytics and care practices. “There are a lot of activities ongoing in Finland, not only at our institute but also in areas like hospital data lakes,” she noted.
Emphasizing the ongoing nature of this work, Soini stressed the importance of continuous development to maintain high standards in health data management. By adhering to the FAIR principles and fostering a collaborative, innovative environment, Finland aims to set a global benchmark for effective health data use.
Sirpa Soini, Director and Chief Data Officer of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). She spoke at the Radical Health Festival 2024 in Helsinki.
