Before and Now

I currently work as a project coordinator and this job I have today would probably not have existed even 20 years ago. I work on servicechains and packages for the Wellbeing services countys Information System and you couldn’t do this if you didn’t have today’s resources. It would also be more challenging to harmonize access to services and disseminate the same information to everyone without the current information systems.

In the past, I have worked in child protection and in neonatal intensive care.

When I started working on the child protection in 2004, computers were hardly used in my daily work. We had a report folder in which both the general shift reports and the individual records of each young person were entered by hand. Similarly, all contact details and other necessary information were in the same folder. Nowadays, the social services have client information systems in every unit and in future everyone will have to be connected to Kanta so that information can be transferred smoothly between the different service providers.

When I started working as a nurse in 2010, I still had patient files and so-called “kuumekurva” and a patient information system. Some of the data was recorded on paper and some in the information systems. Nowadays, the paper system has been abandoned and all information is in the patient information system, X-rays are transferred electronically between units and laboratory results are available to all providers. Information flows more smoothly and up-to-date, and patients certainly receive faster care than before.

In the future, wireless patient monitoring methods will certainly develop, there will be more efforts to measure things, because there is a desire to increase efficiency and reduce wastage. Digitalization creates a lot of opportunities for example to do work and already now you can do some tasks from the other side of the globe, in the future surely even more can benefit from this. On the other hand, digitalization may mean less human contact and, for example, in healthcare, patients and professionals may no longer meet face-to-face, but measurements and so on are done remotely and even discussions take place via teams or other platforms.

The risks of open digital society

The risks of an open digital society are manifold. In the digital environment, personal data is vulnerable to misuse, such as data leaks and identity theft. Through hacking, data of multiple individuals can be misused, as was the case with the recent data breach at the Anthem. As the digital society evolves, there is a risk that several people will be excluded because they lack access to and skills in digital services and their use. 

False information is easier to spread, and we are already seeing a lot of fake news and various kinds of hybrid influencing that is happening mainly online. It is already difficult to identify fake news. Cyber-attacks can seriously compromise the functioning of society.

It’s easier to spread misinformation and we’re already seeing a lot of fake news and various kinds of hybrid influencing that’s happening mainly online. It is already difficult to identify fake news. Cyber-attacks can seriously compromise the functioning of society.

The GDPR has aimed at strengthening privacy and improving the processing of personal data, as well as the EU’s common data protection rules. With the GDPR, individuals have greater rights to their personal data and should have better access to it. With the GDPR, improved data protection and security has been a prerequisite for companies to better protect personal data from misuse.

My own work is currently unaffected by the GDPR, as I do not handle or have access to systems where personal data exists. Overall, GDPR is good, and it is important to keep up to date with the legislation. Preferably even ahead of the curve, but that is already quite challenging these days. 

ChatGPT

The AI answers were general, and the questions I asked related to my current specialist work were more useful than questions about clinical work or, for example, child protection work. The AI could also answer correctly, but by no means do I think it can be considered reliable. The AI does produce “expert” text and it is too easy to trust it if you don’t know anything about it.

The challenge with AI is that there is no way to verify where the information came from, and you can’t find the original source. On the other hand, in many school assignments, AI has stimulated the students’ own thinking on the subject, making it easier to find information from the right sources. I would never trust 100% the information provided by AI, but it has helped me to search for the right information and to move forward in stuck situations.

Self-Evaluation

This course is useful for me, and the topics are important to reflect on over time. Development is evolving and digitalization is increasing, but I have never stopped. Now is a good time to stop and really think about what is happening and where we are going. Information security is a big issue these days and it is no longer something that can be treated with indifference, either at work or in civilian life.