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Avain Technologies Oy to Work on National Solution for Electronic Health Care Services to Citizens

The Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra) has appointed WM-data to lead a consortium which is to conduct a national review into electronic health care services and interactive web services for citizens. WM-data is partnering with Avain Technologies Oy for the project.

Sitra, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Social Insurance Institution, has identified a need to create a nationwide solution for electronic health care services for citizens in Finland.

The project comprises a basic review and implementation plan detailing how electronic health care services and information exchange could be provided in as user-friendly a way as possible from the citizen’s point of view, and following the “one-window principle” where possible. In addition to electronic information exchange, the project is to map other interactive web services and the necessary support services. The specifications will include details of links with other electronic systems, databases and services, and the necessary technical and functional interfaces. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is to coordinate the implementation of the solutions that the review comes up with.

“We face a great challenge in increasing standardisation and reducing elitism, in order to ensure that the service solutions provided to citizens are uniform in architecture all around the country. In addition we must rise to an export-worthy level in terms of international competition. This opens doors to partnerships leading to uniform specifications and frameworks for the development of electronic health care services for citizens, and for their implementation in the public, private and NGO sectors,” says Business Director Ilmo Parvinen of Sitra.

Many EU countries have already adopted cost-effective electronic services that have increased the productivity of health care. The review will investigate these initiatives to identify best practices and implementation models that could be applied in Finland. Several health care portals and e-services are already in use or being developed in Finland, but their widespread adoption has been surprisingly slow – even though Finland is still one of the leaders in Internet use. The project commissioned by Sitra is expected to lead to an implementation plan, which will facilitate the work of service developers and improve the coordination of projects. Sitra has no intention of restricting open competition.

“The health care service system can be made more effective by involving patients more actively in treatment processes, and by providing them with more comprehensive information on their case files,” explains Development Manager Pentti Itkonen of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

The treatment of most chronic illnesses aims to slow down the progress of the disease and to prevent worsening of the patient’s condition with the right care. Some of the key factors involved are medication, the right life style, nutrition and exercise. By making the right choices, patients can affect their conditions daily. This is why providing patients with more information regarding the objectives of treatment and the measurements used in it leads to improved results and decreased use of health care services. Interactive e-services would allow patients to check their own case files and to send their own measurements and readings to health care professionals. Patients could also be offered selected information services related to their conditions, which has been proven to reduce demand for face-to-face consultations.

This project reinforces WM-data’s position as the leading expert in health care information systems in Finland. WM-data’s strengths include excellent technical competence and in-depth knowledge of the health care system. The results of the review will be available by the end of 2007.

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