Acting on behalf of a minor

The minor’s legal guardian(s), legal representative or assistant may act on behalf of the minor. The guardian’s or representative’s details are recorded in the child’s information in the patient information system. An underage child can be added to the guardian’s family profile in OmaMehiläinen, in which case all the child’s health information is displayed to the guardian in OmaMehiläinen. Learn more about adding a family member. The guardian can also see the health information of the underage child in My Kanta (Kanta.fi).

A professional’s assessment of the minor’s decision-making capacity and knowledge of the minor’s consent to the disclosure of their information to the guardian are required for acting on behalf of the minor. If these are in place, guardians can view entries related to their child’s service events, appointment information and prescriptions. This also applies to children over the age of 12 if the young person has allowed the disclosure of their information to their guardian.

Assessment of a minor’s decision-making capacity

The healthcare professional must hear the views of the underage patient on their treatment and assess their capacity to decide on their own treatment and the disclosure of appointment-related information to the guardian. The patient information systems used by Mehiläinen assess the decision-making capacity of underage patients and further assess whether the information related to the appointment can be disclosed to a guardian.

When an appointment is being booked for a minor, the minor is asked whether they allow the appointment to be visible to their guardian. If the minor wishes it, the information about the appointment booking will not be disclosed to their guardian even if the minor’s decision-making capacity has not been assessed. No appointment information or appointment reminders will be sent for the booked appointment. If the minor chooses to hide the appointment information from the guardian, the invoice must be paid at the checkout after the visit. If the appointment is cancelled in a way that violates the cancellation policy or is missed, the invoice will be sent to the minor’s home address. The actual assessment of decision-making capacity and the entry on the disclosure of patient information to the guardian are done by a healthcare professional during an appointment.

More information on the assessment of a minor’s decision-making capacity in healthcare is available on the THL website (in Finnish).

Acting on behalf of an adult

A person aged 18 or older who has legal capacity and is able to understand the significance of a power of attorney can authorise another adult to act on their behalf at Mehiläinen. The authorisation is made by means of a power of attorney, in which the rights of the agent to act on behalf of the grantor are recorded as carefully as possible. 

If you want to authorise another person to act on your behalf at Mehiläinen, follow these steps:

1. Print out the form “Power of attorney for acting on behalf of another person” (pdf, 649 kB) on our website or ask for a form at one of our medical clinics.

2. Complete the form and hand it in at any Mehiläinen medical clinic. Unfortunately, for reasons related to data protection, we are not able to accept forms electronically, for example by email.

The person authorised in the power of attorney may also deliver the document. If the power of attorney is delivered by the authorised person, there must be two witnesses to the power of attorney.

3. Please provide a photo ID when delivering the form. This allows us to verify your identity and ensure the information security of all of our customers. The following documents can be used to verify identity:

  • Passport (issued by a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, or an authority in San Marino)
  • Driving licence (issued by a Finnish authority)
  • Photo ID issued by the police

The power of attorney will be archived in the patient register in accordance with Mehiläinen’s instructions.

Revoking a power of attorney

If you want to revoke a power of attorney, fill in the form “Revoking a power of attorney for acting on behalf of another person” (pdf, 616 kB) and follow the same steps as those shown above. The revocation of the power of attorney will be archived in the patient register in accordance with Mehiläinen’s instructions.

Instructions for the agent

As an agent, you must always prove your identity when acting on behalf of the grantor at Mehiläinen. If you are using Mehiläinen’s services over the phone, be prepared to provide at least your name, personal identity code and home address, as well as the name and personal identity code of the grantor.

Contact information

If you have any questions about acting on behalf of another person, please contact our customer service at 010 414 00. Our customer service is available 24/7.