I have two minors so we get child allowance from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. When I was pregnant and home with a baby I got pregnancy allowance and parental allowance. We’ve been lucky to been able to work so we haven’t had the need for unemployment allowances. When I’ve been on sick leave I’ve gotten allowance from the Social Insurance Institution (KELA). When I was studying as a nurse I got study grant. My experiences with KELA have been good and I’m grateful we have this kind of system in Finland. For years I’ve had the European health care card but luckily no need to use it. OmaKanta-services are very familiar to me and I think the access is very easy. Service is easy to use and it’s great to have your health information in one place usually right after the appointment. According to Keva my pension would be 1481 euros per month if I retire at the age of 68. That is my lowest retirement age. If I had to step out of the working life due to health issues my disability pension would be 2369 euros per month.
I took the digital competence test and I think it gives a good look of what I know and what are my weaknesses. I think I am good at communicating but not that creative. I’m eager to learn e.g. new programs but I could take better care of my personal files and photos by backuping them
I have used booking.com and Trivago to check out accommodations for our trips. Usually I use these sites and hotels own websites to compare prices. Comparing prices for me is important. These “old” and well known sites are quite easy to use and they should be reliable. The prices are clearly shown and comparing different options is easy. I never book any trips or accommodations by phone or by visiting a travelling agency.
I think I’ve never used eBay or Amazon. If I need to order something online I usually use the online shops I’ve used before and I know to be reliable. Prices are usually lower online than at the store due to discount codes and lower expenses. I have also ordered medications and pharmacy products from a Finnish pharmacys website. The use of online pharmacy was easy and safe and I think this is a service I will be using also in the future. When I think my shopping I usually check the options online and when I have made the decision of buying I check if I can get the thing I need near me in a reasonable price. If the thing I need isn’t available near me or the price is significantly lower online I make the purchase online. I try to support local or at least Finnish operators.
For those who don’t use virtual services options are much more limited. When buying something special it can be a challenge if ordering online isn’t an option. Hotels and flights must be reserved by calling or from a travelling agency. I don’t think there are many physical travelling agencies any more. Pharmacies are found almost in every town and customer service in pharmacies is generally excellent. Taking care of your health care information and reservations is possible without any virtual services but it can be a challenge for the customer and for the health care organization.
For the service from my own field I chose https://www.terveyskyla.fi/. Terveyskylä (Health Village) is a service developed by five Finnish university hospitals. From Health Village you can find a lot of information about different conditions and diseases. All the information is created and checked by professionals so it’s reliable. I use Health Village a lot at my work and the “house” I use the most is Children’s house. I use it for example when guiding kids who are freshly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes or guiding families when a child has epilepsy. Families can read information on their own pace and easily access the info when they are discharged from hospital. On Health Village you can find open information and then there is a section for professionals. The service is very broad in Finnish and in Swedish and the English version is under construction. The language is very understandable and I think the site is easily accessible. Most of the articles can be listened so the ones with limited vision can use the material. On the Finnish section of Children’s house there is a “symptom navigator”. It includes a questionnaire for sick kids and once the questionnaire is finished it gives directions whether to get the child to see a doctor or stay at home. This is a nice feature. On Health Village you can Health Village also contains the possibility to make digital health paths for customers. Digital health paths will probably become more common in the future. Necessarily Health Village isn’t the platform but I’ve heard good experiences from these paths.
I am very used to using different sites and e.g. handling my own health data on online services. It was good to look different platforms and assess the accessibility. As a person who has used online services for years it is easy to forget that not everyone wants or can use these online options. This was a good reminder of that. The digital competence test showed all the different areas which needs to be considered when the world is digitalizing. These skills needs to be kept up-to-date so the digitalized environment is as safe as possible for the users.
The blogs I commented on:
thanks for the very interesting text. It was refreshing to read someones thoughts outside the health care. I’ve used OmaKanta a lot in my personal life and also at work and I agree it is quite user friendly service. I’ve also noticed that for elder people it isn’t that simple to use, maybe because of the multiple menus? TREX was an interesting thing to read about, never heard of it before… sounds like a fine system after being developed properly.”
Radiopedia was a very interesting site to read about, I’ve never heard of it before. Thanks for the tip!
I have the same experiences as you regarding the need to help elder people with different platforms and services. Sometimes it feels frustrating to be the one who older family members ask for help and support but I’ve accepted my part.. I understand the need for help because e.g. the scams are sometimes so hard to recognize these days.”
It was interesting to read your reflections, especially regarding the inequality faced by those unable to utilize virtual services such as booking hotels. Also, it was interesting to read about the Health Village. I’ve heard about it but haven’t visited the site before. I believe it will also be beneficial in the social field.
Nice to read your insights Hanna! I have no experience from the health care field, so this was interesting to read. And I agree, it’s quite interesting that there’s people that don’t want to use online services, and I think in health care, there should be a possibility to not use online options.
Hello Hanna.
Thanks for your clear text. I recognize a lot of similarity to my thoughts.
I also try to support local businesses, but sometimes the price is too high. Then I start to think, do I really need it? Or can I built it my self? It is very satisfying when you find a way to avoid buying.
It was nice to read how much you use Terveyskylä service at your job. It is not obvious that you remember to say all tips of reliable websites during the short meeting with your patient. I feel quite often inadequancy when there is too little time for an unhurried encounter. Websites are very important, but I think that I need to send link straight to patients mobilephone, that they remember the page I recommended.
Have a nive springtime!
Hi Hanna!
Thanks for the interesting text. I can relate to your thoughts. It’s really interesting that healthcare operations are moving a lot to online services and there are still a lot of people who can’t use them. Inequality should be taken into account more here. It’s really great that you use the Terveyskylä service a lot in your work. I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about it and sometimes I’ve guided patients to get to know the service. When they have asked, for example, about ionizing radiation.
Hey! Thanks for the interesting text. The health village was a new thing for me and it seems like a good “place” – important information on what is helpful and what is easily accessible.
Hi Hanna!
Thank you for your blog text about digi citizen. My experiences and thoughts of KELA is lot like yours. You have handled widely this topic, and you seem to have quite lot experience about using different kind of digital services. I don’t remember that I have ever visited Terveyskylä websites but your description about Terveyskylä sounds good and I will familiarize myself on that service.
Hi Hanna,
That was a very comprehensive reflection on the various digital services available in Finland. For a foreigner like me that I am not so familiar with those, it was quite interesting to read your positive experiences with Kela and OmaKanta. It is truly impressive how the correct use of these tools can bring so many benefits to our communities. It was also interesting to read about your cautious approach to online shopping, and that you would rather prioritize reliability and local support. And also regarding the digital gap and how important it is for all of us to keep our skills updated and available for everyone.
Again, thank you for sharing such valuable perspective.
BR,
Ivan
Hi Hanna,
It was interesting to read your blog post. I was especially pleased that you had written about Terveyskylä. I must confess that I have hardly looked at it before. There was a lot of information. I also work in the healthcare sector and went to see what information I could find about my field. I was amazed that there was a lot of information about nuclear medicine imaging as well. I could easily find our unit’s patient instructions. I don’t know if the outpatient clinics who book the appointments tell patients about the information found in Terveyskylä. Information gained prior to the study could ease the patients. In the future, I am going to recommend the useful and reliable information found in Terveyskylä to patients.
My blog:
https://blogi.savonia.fi/maijanblogi/
Hi Hanna!
Thanks for introducing Terveyskylä. My kid just get diagnosis with asthma and I checked the site with that search. It seems to be very easy to use and navigate and gives a lot of information from the reliable authors and instances. Also this kids symptoms navigator service seems quite easy to use and is definitely helpful in many cases when trying to solve if medical care is needed or not in “basic symptoms”. Its nice to know where to check the health related information when needed.
It is also good to recognize the gap that might exists when people are not able or willing to use digital tools in everyday health care (or other) needs. I have personal experience of difficulties what comes with even basic reservations for doctors appointment for my elderly parents. They have no skills to do it in online and not able to use two phased authentication so it needs to be done by phone. And when the hearing and seeing is not good enough to handle call-back instructions and selections it causes a lot of frustration. In my case the solution is that I now got confirmed rights (in suomi.fi anf Kanta -services) to help them in this kind of things, but how about these people who don’t have a trustworthy and capable relative or friend to do so? Now when digitization is faster than ever society also needs to find the way to take care of those who are not able to utilize it as part of everyday life.
Hi,
I really enjoyed reading your post on digicitizen and your experiences with various digital services. Your reflections on the digital divide and the challenges for those who don’t use online services were particularly insightful. The way you use Terveyskylä at work to guide families is truly commendable. Thank you for sharing your experiences and highlighting the importance of inclusivity in digital services.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing your views! Especially the pharmacy and hotel booking part. I have never thought about them in that way. And thanks for introducing the Terveyskylä service.
I am thrilled to read your blog, especially Terveyskylä (Health Village). You mention the health village in your blog, which I have never heard of before. I am happy to read you describe the health village, which is very knowledgeable. It can provide health guidelines for us. In addition, your ideas and experience with the digital environment.
Hi Hanna!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I came so happy that you picked up that Kela services give us great priviliges as we are living in Finland. I have heard so many times that people deal with Kela quite negatively, subsidies are regarded too low and so on. Still in most of the countries there is no such insurance system for everyone.
Here is URL to my blog if you like to visit:
https://blogi.savonia.fi/karoliinakarppelin/
Hi, thank for the interesting text. I have also visited and used terveyskylä website a lot in my work. I´ve heard a lot of positive feedback about it from my co-workers. I also use terveyskylä omapolku which is great open healthcare digital treatment paths, social care digital services paths
and self-care programs.
Hi there, your blog post was interesting and plainly written. It was interesting to read especially about your experiences on the terveyskylä.fi website. I myself work in the field of health care and have used this side purchase in my work.
My blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/saturiikkahartikka/