What does secondary use mean?
The health data collected about you can also serve other purposes.
Secondary use of social and health data means that registry data generated within health and social services – such as laboratory results, diagnoses, or social care records – is utilised for a purpose other than the one for which it was originally collected.
Secondary use may include, for example:
When data moves from primary use to secondary use, its nature changes: individual records become part of a larger research dataset, which is processed in strictly controlled environments without direct identifiers.
How is secondary use linked to Emma?
One autumn, Emma begins to feel more tired than usual. After a work day, she has little energy and feels cold deep in her bones. Her occupational health doctor orders laboratory tests, and the results reveal that Emma has hypothyroidism. She is prescribed medication, which gradually makes her daily life easier.
At the occupational health clinic, the doctor records Emma’s test results and diagnosis into the patient information system for her own care. Similar data is accumulated from many other people across Finland.
By combining this data, a vast research dataset can be formed. Researchers can then use this to develop better prevention and treatment for hypothyroidism. In this research dataset, Emma’s information is no longer a separate patient record, but part of a larger whole.