The new service opened up to the general public in Hämeenlinna on Wednesday. It features a new way to make doctors appointments, but the new service also provides health care professionals and patients ways to share and analyse health data.
The site, minunterveyteni.fi (my health), also helps clients to self-evaluate themselves; possibly alleviating worry about symptoms, or possibly encouraging the client to book an appointment sooner rather than later.
And using the online service, clients no longer have to queue on the telephone at inconvenient times in order to get an appointment. Once an appointment is made, the doctor already has the information about symptoms and conditions they’ll be dealing with when the client walks in the door.
For people with more acute symptoms, a series of questions leads to instructions about what, if any, critical steps should be taken.
One person who acted as a client in a test of the system, Pentti Repo, said he tried it for the first time in December. He likened the online experience to being a "virtual medical examination" and easy to use.
"It wasn't even as difficult as online banking," Repo said, adding that the system guided and instructed him through each step of the way.
More services to come
Because the service contains sensitive medical information, the minunterveyteni service is protected with the same security systems that online banks use or via mobile phone verification.
The _minunterveyteni _organisers say that the online service is not only intended for the sick. They said they hope that those in good health will also use the site to see if there’s something that they could be doing better.
Organisers say that the current version of the service is only the beginning. A broader range of services will be rolled out in the future.
Comparable online health services are already in the works for Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Joensuu and South Karelia.