Switching journal systems: how to get your data out safely

Switching journal systems is one of the biggest IT decisions a treatment clinic can face. When you're considering switching from Sensum One, Nexus, Cura, Avaleo or another Danish journal system, the first question is always the same: can we bring our data with us? The answer is yes — and it isn't optional for the vendor. Validi has built import modules that move service users, records and documents from the most widely used Danish systems without data loss.

The feature is built for clinics in addiction treatment and social psychiatry, where a service user's history is critical to their treatment. You don't need to start from scratch. You don't need to juggle two systems for months. You choose which units come across, follow along on a progress bar, and download the result as a single bundle.

In Validi, the whole process is built into the system, and you can see every step along the way. That means less IT stress and more time with service users — even during the transition.

What does it mean to switch journal systems in Denmark?

Switching journal systems means your clinic moves all service user data — master data, journal notes, prescriptions, appointments, documents and history — from one system to another. In Denmark, this is a familiar process across the health and social-care sector, because many clinics have been on older systems for ten years or more.

A system switch isn't just a technical exercise. It is a professional decision about how you want to work with documentation, GDPR and usability for many years to come. A well-planned switch typically takes 2-8 weeks from decision to going live — depending on the clinic's size.

Which Danish journal systems can you migrate from?

Validi supports import from the most widely used journal systems on the Danish market for addiction treatment, supported-housing facilities and social psychiatry. That covers both municipal and private operators.

Sensum One (EG Sensum)

Sensum One is the most widely used system in Danish addiction treatment and supported housing. Validi has a dedicated Sensum One export that pulls service users, journal notes, medication, urine tests and documents out in a single bundle.

Nexus (KMD)

Nexus is used by many municipalities for clinical documentation. Validi imports service user master data, journal histories and documents via the format KMD supplies when a contract ends.

Cura (Systematic)

Cura is widely used in home care and parts of social psychiatry. Validi supports import of service user data, journal notes and care plans from Cura extracts.

Bosted System, Avaleo and other systems

Bosted System (also part of EG), Avaleo and smaller niche systems can be imported via CSV or XML extracts. If you use a system that doesn't have an automatic integration, Validi helps map the data fields so no information is lost.

For clinics using Word, Excel or paper records alongside a main system, Validi also has a manual import routine that structures the data along the way.

Is the vendor obliged to hand over your data?

Yes — and it is one of the most important points many clinics forget when contracts are negotiated. As the data-controlling clinic, you always have the right to have your data handed over by the vendor in a usable format. It isn't a courtesy; it is a legal obligation.

GDPR Article 28 obliges the data processor

Under GDPR Article 28, a data processor — meaning your journal system vendor — must either return or delete all personal data relating to you as data controller when the agreement ends. In practice, that means your current vendor cannot withhold data, charge unreasonable fees for handover, or "lock" you into the system.

The Danish Data Protection Agency's guidance is clear: responsibility for the data lies with the clinic, not the vendor. The vendor stores and processes data on your behalf, and you can demand it back at any time.

The EU Data Act strengthens data portability

In September 2025, the EU Data Act came into force. It extends the right to data portability and obliges providers of cloud and software services to support effective transfer of data to competing systems. It directly affects journal systems that have, for years, made it hard for clinics to switch away.

What this means for you as a clinic

In practice, the legal requirements mean that:

• you always have the right to your data in a machine-readable format (typically CSV, JSON or XML)
• the vendor may not charge unreasonable fees for handover when a contract ends
• you can demand that data be delivered within a reasonable time — typically 30 days
• withholding data is a breach of GDPR and can be reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency

As a journal system vendor, we see the same duty applying to ourselves: make it easy to come into the system — and easy to leave it again. Clinics shouldn't be "trapped" by technical barriers. If one day you want to switch away from Validi, you have the same right to export — and the same support.

What does a good data export contain?

A well-executed migration must bring everything across — not just a subset. When you plan a switch, make sure the following data types come with you.

Service users and master data

All service users must be transferred with name, Civil Registration Number, address, contact details, status and linked next of kin. Client numbers and aliases should come across too, so you preserve continuity in referrals.

Journal notes and treatment courses

Journal notes are the heart of any treatment course. All notes — whether written two weeks or ten years ago — must come across with the correct timestamp and author. Treatment courses, referrers and treatment packages should come across as well.

Medication and urine tests

Prescriptions, doses, PRN history and urine-test results must be transferred so your nurse can pick up on day one in the new system exactly where you left off. That is critical to service user safety in addiction treatment.

Documents and attachments

All uploaded documents — care plans, consents, scanned agreements, correspondence — must be exported as files in a folder structure per service user. You must not lose any attachments.

How does the migration work in practice?

The process is built so a clinic administrator can run it without IT support. You log in to Validi as administrator, select your current journal system from the import menu, and enter credentials or upload a data set.

Imagine Treatment Centre Solgården — a fictional clinic with 84 service users across three units that has used Sensum One for seven years. Clinic manager Anne logs in on a Monday morning, selects all three units, and starts the import. After five minutes, the progress bar shows 12% of service users fetched. Anne leaves the computer running and gets on with other things. Two hours later, all 84 service users, their 41,000 journal notes and 3,200 documents are ready in Validi. She is live the same day.

Throughout the migration you can follow progress in real time. If something fails for a single service user, it isn't quietly skipped — you get a clear error report so no data disappears unnoticed.

Benefits of a planned journal-system switch

For clinics in addiction treatment and social psychiatry, data continuity isn't optional. If a service user has been in care for five years, that history has to come across — even when the system is replaced.

• no manual re-entry: you avoid retyping thousands of journal notes
• full service user history preserved: clinicians can see the whole course from day one
• GDPR-safe transfer: data moves encrypted, not on a USB stick or via email
• traceability: what was transferred, and when, is logged precisely
• optional per-unit migration: start with one unit and expand later
• download as ZIP: you always keep a local copy of your data
• lower risk of vendor lock-in: you always keep the right to move on later

For many clinics, it is precisely the option to migrate step by step that makes the switch realistic. You don't have to move everything in one weekend.

Migration with AI

Validi supports the clean-up and structuring of migrated data with AI features built specifically for Danish treatment courses.

How AI suggestions work after migration

Once your data is in, Validi can review a service user's journal history and suggest updated treatment and care plans based on actual data — not guesswork. The AI reads only what is already on file about the service user and proposes a structured plan in Validi's format. You review the suggestion and decide what makes it in.

Example of an AI suggestion after migration

After migrating Solgården's data, Anne generates an AI suggestion for Jens, a service user who has been in care for three years. In 20 seconds, Validi suggests an updated care plan with goals on housing, employment and health — all based on Jens's actual journal notes from the old system. Anne adjusts two goals, approves the rest, and the care plan is ready. Time spent: under five minutes.

How do you follow up on a migration digitally?

Once the migration is complete, it is important to be able to document that everything came across safely. Validi gives you two tools for that.

Measuring the completeness of the migration

Validi shows an overview with the number of exported service users, journal notes, documents and prescriptions, set against what was in the old system. You can see the difference as counts and percentages, so you know exactly where you stand.

Audit history and documentation

The whole import and export process is logged in Validi's audit trail. You can export the log as CSV for inspections or your own quality assurance. That means you can always document to the municipality or the Danish Data Protection Agency how the migration went.

Is a migration GDPR-safe?

Yes — the migration follows the Danish Data Protection Agency's guidelines for transferring sensitive personal data. Data is transferred encrypted between the systems, no information is sent via email or insecure channels, and access to the import function itself is restricted to clinic administrators.

All Civil Registration Numbers and health data are stored encrypted in Validi, the servers are located in Europe, and the clinic retains full data-controller status. Validi acts only as data processor. The audit trail documents every step, so you can always answer "who moved what, and when?".

How to start a migration to Validi

The process is built to be simple, so you can get going without a consultant.

1. Log in to Validi as a clinic administrator
2. Go to Settings → Import
3. Choose your current journal system (Sensum One, Nexus, Cura or "Other")
4. Enter credentials or upload data files
5. Choose which units to migrate
6. Click Start import and follow the progress bar
7. When the process is done, the service users are ready in Validi

In practice, the work on your side typically takes under an hour. The system handles the rest. To see how it works step by step, book a free demo at validi.eu or read more about Validi's features for addiction treatment.

Frequently asked questions about switching journal systems

How long does a typical journal-system migration take?

Most clinics finish in 2-6 hours depending on data volume. A clinic with 80-100 service users and 10 years of history is typically done in under four hours. You can work in other systems while the import runs in the background, and you don't need to keep the browser open.

Do we lose data when we switch journal systems?

No — not if the migration is planned properly. Validi imports all service user data: master data, journal notes, medication, documents, urine tests and treatment history. After import you can compare data volumes with your previous system via an overview report showing completeness as a percentage for each data type.

Can we run two journal systems in parallel for a period?

Yes. Many clinics choose to migrate one unit at a time and leave the rest in the old system until they are ready. Validi supports per-unit migration, and you can import multiple times without duplicating service users — the system recognises previously imported service users by Civil Registration Number.

What do we do if our current vendor refuses to hand over data?

That is a breach of GDPR, and you can report it to the Danish Data Protection Agency. As a data-controlling clinic, you always have the right to have your data handed over under GDPR Article 28. Validi can help you phrase your request to the vendor and advise on which data format to require.

Which journal systems can Validi import from?

Validi supports import from Sensum One, Nexus (KMD), Cura (Systematic), Bosted System and Avaleo. For smaller niche systems or your own CSV/Excel extracts, Validi support helps with a manual mapping so no data is lost along the way.

What does migration to Validi cost?

The import function itself is included in your Validi subscription. Validi's base subscription starts at 199 DKK/month with add-ons per employee. There is no separate migration fee — you pay only for using Validi after the switch.

Do we keep our old journal notes after migration?

Yes. All journal notes are transferred with their original timestamp, author and content. When a clinician opens a service user's record in Validi, the entire history appears as one continuous timeline — including notes from the previous system.