KELA, OmaKanta & KEVA
I use OmaKela twice a year during my studies to pay university student healthcare fee. I have my european health care card and I’ll take it with me when i’m abroad.
I use OmaKanta service when I need to refresh my prescriptions. In 2022 Germany demanded vaccination passport to gain entrance to county
It’s depressing to check the accumulation of my pension status from KEVA.
I gained access to my services via electronic identification.
eBay and Amazon versus local market
I visited eBay and Amazon. I searched for computer mouse for myself from these two market places. The particular mouse I was looking for was priced aproximately 45$ per unit plus delivery from who knows where. Local shops in Kuopio, which had the same computer mouse, prices tag was almost the same and I don’t have to pay for delivery.
Planning a trip to city of Kotka in Kymenlaakso region for two days. Trivago recommended local Sokos Hotel Seurahuone for 274 euros. Sokoshotels.fi recommended the same room for 232 euros.
In these two cases I wouldn’t recommed using those services for obtaining goods or planning your trip which you can get much more closer with the same cost or less. In these particular settings I dont think service is reliable.
Pharmaca Fennica
I have used Pharmaca Fennica to search patients medical information in emergency medical service. My organisation has installed this application to every units smart phone. My experience of this application is that it’s very useful and you can easily gain access to knowledge of some particular medication that patient is using that is not familiar to me before hand. Pharmaceutical field is wide in Finland and product names varies a lot. Mostly I know what agent does but the product name doesn’t correlate with it. For instance medication called Dormicum which agent is midazolam. Sometimes the product name is the as the agent. Main point is the application take off the guessing part or finding the original package.
Digital gap
Digital gap or digital divide means roughly people who has computer with internet access and people who dont own one.
Digital gap or digital divide may and will effect those who are not digital natives. Digital native refers to an individual who have grown up in an era of widespread digital technology. Typically individual is born in the middle of 1980’s when computers, internet and mobile devices surfaced to public knowledge.
Digital divide may result from disparities in sosial-economy, education, geographic location or infrastucture. Limiting opportunities for those not connected side. It makes harder to access information, education and engage in social activities.
In global scale rural areas lacks of internew access, but in Finland this is not a major issue. Observing three finnish teleoperators affilation maps I would say that about 95% coverage is provided by these three teleoperators Elisa, Telia and DNA. Those areas that were not covered was in Lapland wilderness without permanent residence.
Some remote communitites or individuals lacking the infrastructure for high-speed internet access leaves them unable to remote work, telemedicine services or virtual learning.
Social economical status effects globally for example low income family cannot afford devices like laptops or smartphones, leaving their children at a disadvantage in school where digital tools are essential. Finnish constitution laws provide free basic education and it contains learning materials and devices. Municipalities and academies are obliged to loan or give digital devices to their students if digital content is used in teaching. Compulsory education end when a person turns 18 years old. Globally this one of major issues widening the digital divide, but also in Finland our legislation secures childrens for digital gap.
That leaves us the elderly. Many of elder persons lack the skills to use modern technology effectively and isolates them from digital communication and services. In eastern parts of Finland is lots of elderly and high morbidity index. Many public healthcare programs are directed to develope digital healhcare services. Access to public health care is done by digital form which is sended to a health care professional who contacts you if you manage get the form finished and send. Most bank affairs are done digitally, many shops don’t accept cash for payment etc. So I would say elder people is going to suffer the most in due to digital divide in Finland.
Self reflection
Digitalized enviroment has truly done it’s job to KELA for sure. Last time I dealed with that department in 2010 it was lot’s of paperwork when I was getting my study grant accepted and after finishing my nurse degree to not recollect the study grant what they have payed me. I concluded that every service what they provide is in digital format novadays and I surfed OmaKela site for any possible future services I might need. KELA opening hours are from 12am to 4pm today. I don’t know how much people visit KELA offices in the present day, so I reckon that HR has done it’s calculations about opening hours and current state economy dictates also what service you get and what you don’t.
I learned the basics about digital divide and my main perception is that in Finland elderly are the group who suffers from digitalisation, banking, pensions, applications for preferences are digitalized today and if you don’t have the skills or someone who teach these skills or ability to learn these you’re basically in big trouble. According to Finland’s Crime victim emergency the biggest group to be a victim of a bank fraud were 70-79-years old.
Comments
Sivam’s blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/sivamprasath/
Sabita’s blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/sabitathapamagar/
Mazi’s blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/mazi/