DIGI SOCIETY

In my opinion, the corona pandemic greatly promoted well-being technology in the social and health sector. Remote contacts between clients and nurses and doctors increased rapidly. In my own work at the psychiatric department, we started to use technology to assemble patient networks. Without remote connections, the overall attention to the patient would have been very little during the corona pandemic. Nurses surprisingly quickly learned to create connections and got used to remote networks.

The Iisalmi psychiatric department has been treating patients from the entire North Savo region for several years now, and remote connections have made it possible, for example, for the patient's outpatient nurse to participate in the treatment more effectively. Long drives are no longer an obstacle to participating in patient care. In mental health and substance abuse treatment, digitalization enables remote therapy, for example. However, on the other hand, I see it as a threat, because the therapist can be the client's only social contact every week. In my opinion, remote contact will never replace a genuine meeting between people.

Patient information systems and the base archive enable continuity of customer/patient care and remove e.g. overlapping drug treatment, which increases patient safety. The transmission of treatment information from one care provider to another also increases patient safety. Electronic appointments make it easier for the customer to book appointments with a low threshold, at worst this can congest healthcare with unjustified appointments. By phone or via chat, a professional can make an assessment of the need for treatment and book appointments accordingly.

At the moment, I use the Chat service at work. I feel it is a low-threshold contact channel for healthcare. Unfortunately, there are surprisingly few contacts from mental health and substance abuse services via the Chat service. Communication services have somewhat advertised the Chat service on social media. Social media is a good information channel, especially for young people. I know that the videovisit service is used in our area. For example, the medication taking of mental health rehabilitators at home is monitored through it. I have heard feedback from customers that the service works well.

SELF-EVALUATION
It is important that the management commits to promoting digitalization in the work unit. Employees should be committed to the set goals. Digitization requires the development of skills and, in connection with that, the resourcing of personnel. In my work, I can increase the use of remote reception services and guide customers to the use of self-care guides even more. It would seem that in the future digital services will increase and they will be developed through various projects. It requires a lot from the nursing staff to keep up with the times.