Kela

My family currently consists of me and a dog. I have used Kela’s services in various ways during my life. When I was young, I applied for a student grant and a student loan for my studies. When my child was born, he received child benefit from Kela. Back then, paper applications were still in use, and they were delivered either directly to the office or by mail. Now we live in completely different times and digital has entered our everyday life. A year ago, I was on long sick leave and at that time I submitted to Kela the contract with my employer for partial sickness allowance. This year I have paid a university student’s health care fee through Kela’s website. I have both a Kela card and a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

My father died at the beginning of the year and my mother has an advanced memory disorder. For my father’s estate inventory, I was in contact with many different parties. Things were really made easier by the fact that the services are online these days. For example, I had to request an official certificate from Sweden. I applied for the certificate from the Riksarkivet website (State Archive). Making the application was surprisingly easy. My mother is no longer able to take care of things by herself, so I help her. Many things can be handled on behalf of another person if the powers are in order. Kela’s website has clear instructions on how to act when you authorize another person to handle Kela-related matters.

OmaKanta

I logged in to OmaKanta by writing kanta.fi in the address bar of the browser. It is not recommended to log into OmaKanta through a browser search result. After that, I pressed the Log in OmaKantaan button. I was directed to Suomi.fi authentication. I identified myself using the Mobile certificate. A mobile certificate is an electronic identity document on a mobile phone and can be used to securely identify yourself with electronic transaction services. To banking services, I log in with the bank’s own credentials. I hadn’t visited OmaKanta for a while. I familiarized myself with the new version of OmaKanta and updated the permission to release patient data. When I stopped using OmaKanta, I logged out. I used my own computer.

Pension

I tried to access Keva’s website on several different days, and finally, I managed to get in. I could take partial early retirement at age 63. Based on current information, my full retirement age would be when I turn 65. If I continue working until I’m 68, my pension will naturally increase. My full pension would be about 1,000 euros more than my partial early retirement (50%). If I retire at 68, I will receive about 400 euros more per month than if I retire at 65.

Digital shops

I rarely shop online, and my most recent purchase was last year when the post office delivered an air fryer to my home. The entire process, from ordering to delivery, went smoothly, and the price was lower than buying it directly from a store. I’ve rarely ordered clothes online because I prefer to try them on before buying. Since I find returning items by mail a hassle, I’ve occasionally ended up keeping things I don’t need. I frequently visit flea markets and try to avoid purchasing unnecessary items.

Although eBay is a major online store, I recently visited its website for the first time. In the past, I’ve used Amazon to order textbooks, where you can find both new and used books. As I’m planning a trip next year, I’ve become familiar with Booking.com and Trivago. However, I’ve noticed that hotel prices on these platforms are often higher than when booking directly through the hotel’s website, which I find confusing. I’m not sure if this is typical, or just specific to the country I’m traveling to.

Terveystalo app

My occupational health care is provided by Terveystalo, and their online service has worked well. Through it, I can book appointments with a nurse and almost all doctors. Doctor consultations can also be done remotely. The service allows me to view all records related to my care, test results, vaccination information, and prescriptions. I can print out a sick leave certificate and renew prescriptions through the platform.

Before my appointment to doctor, I receive a text message. I can use this to check in for my appointment. In response, I get a message with the floor and room number where the doctor will see me. This is extremely convenient. Hopefully, in the future, such a functional online service will also be available in our public healthcare system.

Digitalization and digital gap

In Finland, digital services are generally widely available. However, there are challenges, as not everyone has equal access to them. I work as a radiographer at a small health center and discuss this topic with patients every day. Older people are not used to using digital services.

Not all elderly people understand how computers, smartphones, or online services work, and some can’t afford to buy the necessary devices. As people age, learning becomes more difficult, vision and hearing decline, and some also face motor challenges. Many elderly people live in rural areas, where internet connections can be poor. Many health centre’s offer a call-back service, but many older people don’t know how to use it. The buttons on devices are small, and some don’t even know the names of the keys, such as what the hash symbol is. I am particularly concerned about the elderly in this regard.

The Digital Competence Wheel

Self-reflection

Many of the topics covered in the course were already familiar to me. I’ve been thinking about Kela’s services, which indeed affect every one of us in Finland, from babies to the elderly. For many of us, Kela feels like a large, bureaucratic institution, whose official language is difficult to understand. It was amusing to learn that Kela received the “Clear Communicator of the Year’ Award” (Vuoden selväsanainen -palkinto) this year. The award is given to a public sector team or organization that promotes the use of appropriate, clear, and understandable language.

I also found some information on Kela’s website that I wasn’t aware of before. If you graduate with a degree your earnings-related pension when you retire can be larger. This information is relevant also for us.

Blogs I read and made comments to:

Carlotta Zambon https://cheerful-carlottarainbow26.wordpress.com/digi-citizen/

Soyhan Yazgan https://soyhanblog.wordpress.com/digi-citizen

Sanna Vihanto https://blogi.savonia.fi/sannavihanto/digi-citizen/