My field of expertise
I’ve been in the health sector for more than thirty years and I’ve watched healthcare digitalise slowly at first and then, in the last few years, at an accelerating pace. The corona pandemic took it to new heights. During the pandemic, patient contact went completely over the phone or electronically.
Social and health services are increasingly provided through digital solutions. The website provides information and feedback and offers services such as appointments, self-referrals and digital consultations. Nowadays digital services can support, complement or replace traditional services and enable completely new ways of working. Examples include symptom assessments, wellbeing coaching, digital care pathways, chatbots and digital health centres.
All this used to be done either face-to-face or by phone. The challenge is how to make digitalisation work for everyone. There are many people in Finland, especially the elderly, who do not have access to digital equipment or do not want to use it. There are also many people who do not even own a smartphone, which seems to be a necessity these days if you want to deal with the authorities or even the health service. Being involved in a project, I noticed that digitalisation is being pushed hard for everyone to use without taking the above into account. The idea is that if the majority of people who have access to digital devices then diminishing resources can be focused on those who don’t.
In theory the idea is good, but I think it overlooks the fact that even if there is access to digital devices, a very large number of people still want to contact a real person. Finland is the most digitalised country in the world, but that does not mean that all people have digital skills. I understand very well the idea of digitalisation. For example, the resources in healthcare, i.e. the number of staff, will decrease during the coming retirement boom, but is the pace too fast?
Open digital society
In my own work, I have found that one of the key obstacles to fully exploiting the benefits of information systems is poor information flow, especially between different organisations. As a professional, I find this problematic. Many factors contribute to the challenges of information flow, one of which is the current legislation. This imposes restrictions, for example on the transfer of information between the social and health care sectors, and makes it difficult to develop systems and processes. In addition, different interpretations of the legislation further complicate the situation.
I have noticed that the North Savo Welfare Region interprets data protection more strictly than other welfare regions, for reasons of certainty, and this has made my work more difficult, especially in projects. In the development work, a single form could take several weeks to complete, as drafts had to be gone through with a lawyer. One sentence could be refined endlessly. On the other hand, the GDPR has enhanced the rights of individuals, increased transparency and accountability, and raised the importance of data protection and security in organisations. I think also the large fines in the regulation encourage people to follow good data protection rules so perhaps the endless fiddling over one sentence is justified.
Chat GPT
I asked ChatGPT how I could utilize digitalization in home care for the elderly, and I received a response listing the methods that are currently in use. Nothing new or innovative was suggested. In summary, Chat GPT wrote that digitalization can help support safety, monitor well-being, improve communication, and make everyday life easier—as long as the solutions are tailored to the individual needs and functional abilities of the customer. It also reminded me of data protection. I thought the answer was appropriate, and since I am familiar with the subject, I know that it is also true.
I believe that if I ask about something I am not familiar with, there is a risk that I will take the answer as true, even though ChatGPT compiles its information from a very large database. It is also constantly learning new things. I am familiar with ChatGPT from my previous job, where I also received quick training on how to use it. It is very important to know how to phrase your questions correctly. You also cannot blindly trust everything that ChatGPT tells you. You have to check the facts every time, even if the answer seems correct. An old saying could also be applied to Chat GPT: “It’s a good servant but a bad master.”
Self evaluation
Through my long career in the health sector, I’ve seen firsthand how digitalisation has transformed the way we work. I’ve learned how crucial digital tools have become—not only in providing services more efficiently but also in managing resources as the sector faces workforce shortages. The pandemic especially demonstrated how quickly systems can adapt under pressure. Digital consultations, online services, and care pathways are now standard parts of health and social care.
However, I’ve also come to understand that progress must be inclusive. I’ve learned that while digital solutions can greatly enhance care, they are not accessible to everyone—particularly older people or those without digital literacy or access to devices. It’s not enough to build new systems; we must also ensure they can be used by the people who need them. I’ve also realized that personal contact remains important to many, and digital services must not entirely replace human interaction.
One key insight I’ve gained is how legislation and strict data protection policies—although important—can slow development and complicate processes, especially in inter-organisational work. I’ve seen how interpretation of data laws can vary greatly, which affects how efficiently digital tools can be introduced or scaled.
Using ChatGPT has shown me how useful digital assistants can be for brainstorming and accessing information quickly. However, I’ve also learned the importance of digital literacy—how to ask the right questions, interpret answers critically, and fact-check. Tools like ChatGPT are helpful, but they must be used wisely and with human judgment.
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