Right to self-determination and acting on behalf of another person

The right to self-determination, which is the right to make your own decisions, remains a fundamental right even at old age.

On this page

If you wish, you can authorise a trusted family member or friend to act on your behalf in health and social services.

In addition, you can ensure the implementation of your right to self-determination and your own will in the future by making an advance decision and a continuing power of attorney.

Acting on behalf of another person in health and social services 

You can authorise a trusted family member or friend to act on your behalf in Maisa in matters related to health and social services.

Under Maisa Menu, Manage Access -> Manage Proxy Access Rights, you can specify authorisations. In addition to the services of the City of Helsinki, the authorisations apply to the health care services of HUS.

  • Full permissions: The person acting on your behalf has the same access to your account as you do. The person can for example see your diagnoses and medication details, send messages to professionals and make appointments.

  • Read-only permissions: The person acting on your behalf has full access to view your information but cannot book appointments or send messages.

  • Appointment booking and messages: The person acting on your behalf can book appointments and send messages on your behalf but cannot see, for example, your diagnoses or list of medications.

Proxy access granted in Maisa gives the authority to act on behalf of someone else only in Maisa. Any representation on behalf of another person conducted over the phone or at a health or social service facility mandates a written authorisation. For further details, kindly reach out to your respective health and social services unit.

Go to Maisa

If you do not have a smartphone or you find e-services difficult to use, you can fill in this form, and take it to your health station, where a healthcare professional will record the information in the patient information system.

Power of attorney for acting on behalf of another person (pdf)

If you would like to authorise a trusted family member or friend to only act on your behalf at the pharmacy, you can do so in My Kanta.

Go to My Kanta

Photo: Sakari Röyskö

Continuing power of attorney

A continuing power of attorney allows you to decide how your personal affairs will be handled in the future. You can specify the responsibilities of the person acting on your behalf and how their activities will be supervised. The continuing power of attorney will only be adopted if you can no longer manage your own affairs.

Read more about the continuing power of attorney

Guide ‘Miten turvaan tahtoni toteutumisen’ (How to ensure my self-determination)

Advance decision

You can prepare an advance decision for a situation where you are unable to make decisions regarding your care, for example, due to a serious illness or accident. You can, for example, refuse certain treatment measures or share your wishes regarding care.

An advance decision will make things clear both for your nearest family members and friends and healthcare professionals. An advance decision is a document that binds healthcare professionals.

You can write your advance decision in My Kanta, where healthcare professionals will be able to see it. You can also write your advance decision on a piece of paper or fill in an advance directive form, print it out and ask a healthcare professional to record it in the patient information system. 

If you have any questions about making an advance decision or would like to state your advance decision orally, discuss the matter with a social welfare or healthcare professional who oversees your care. 
 

Read more about the advance decision (THL)

Read why you need an advance decision (Terveyskirjasto)

Take a look at the advance decision form of the Alzheimer Society of Finland (in Finnish)