What does ‘sharing health information’ mean?
Sharing health information means that important information about your health is available to healthcare professionals who need it to provide you with safe and good healthcare.
This may include
- information about your allergies
- medications you are currently taking
- test results
- medical history
- medical records from hospitals.
The aim is to ensure that the right information is available to healthcare professionals who need it, at the right time, wherever you are receiving treatment.
Better healthcare
When doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have digital access to important health information about you, they can provide you with better follow-up and treatment.
In emergency situations in, such as in a hospital, quick access to your information can be crucial.
When your health information is available digitally, you do not have to repeat your medical history every time you meet a new healthcare professional. This can contribute to safe and holistic follow-up, especially if you need healthcare from different parts of the health service.
Only those who can document the need, can view the information
Only those healthcare professionals are permitted to read information about you, who can document a need for this. Documenting a need means registering their name, where they work, the date and why they need to access your information. They can check your information before an appointment to prepare, during the appointment to provide you with the right care, and afterwards to document your treatment.
Healthcare professionals are subject to a duty of confidentiality. They must log in securely. Whenever your healthcare provider reads information about you, this is recorded and you can see who has accessed the information. You can find a log of who has accessed your health information on Helsenorge.
You can limit who can gain access to your health information
You have the right to make decisions concerning your privacy. At Helsenorge, you can choose how healthcare professionals access your health information across treatment centres. Information in your patient records kept by your GP is not shared through this solution.
On Helsenorge, you can:
- Check what health information has been recorded about you.
- See a log of everyone who has viewed your information.
- Block certain named healthcare professionals from accessing your health information. This blocking will always apply, even in an emergency.
- Block all or selected health information so that healthcare professionals cannot view it.
- Opt out of having a summary care record. All information about you will then be deleted and no further information about you will be stored in your summary care record in the future.
If you discover information about you that is not correct, ask the treatment centre that registered the information to change or delete it.
Log in here for your privacy settings.
Access to health information may vary
The sharing of health information is gradually being introduced throughout the health service in Norway. Hospitals, GPs and municipal health services are at different stages in this transition. The information your healthcare provider can see about you therefore depends on where you are receiving treatment and who is treating you.
If you find little or no information about you on Helsenorge, this may be because you do not have a medical history or because the sharing of health information has not started where you are receiving healthcare.