Kela
Kela is the social Insurance Institution of Finland. Kela has offered me different kinds of support during my life. When I wasn’t even born yet, my parents have got financial support and a maternity box, because of my upcoming birth. My parents got supported with parental allowances as long as they took care of me at home. The financial support (child benefit) continued until I was 17. From then, I got student benefits. As I graduated in within the target time, I got a student loan compensation. When I moved to my own flat as I studied, I got housing allowance. Nowadays I don’t get any financial support from Kela. Only if I need health care in private practice, Kela pays automatically a part of the costs. With the European Health Insurance Card from Kela, I should get medically necessary treatments in Europe.
OmaKanta
MyKanta (OmaKanta) is something I’v always used regularly. In MyKanta you can check your health data. Most often I use it for checking prescriptions and to request a prescription renewal. When I needed the digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate, I could find it there. When I browse MyKanta, I normally do with my phone. I log in using online bank IDs.
Keva/Varma
Keva is a pension provider for people who work at in the public sector. For me as a private sector worker, the corresponding website is Varma. The website showed me the estimated pension if I retire at 68 years and 4 months age (the lowest retirement age for me) and the corresponding amount at 70 years age. The amounts made me feel safe. I don’t feel like I should worry about my pension. The site was already familiar to me.
Digital shops
I don’t shop that much, but when I do, I do it online. eBay is a website I used to shop on before. I think the website is reliable, as you get the money back from them, if the product isn’t what you expected, or if you don’t get the item. In these days, I don’t use eBay anymore. I’m more aware of what I buy, and often, the eBay products are made in horrific working conditions. I’m aware of that it’s not only a problem of eBay etc., but I still think, that eBay is not the best option for responsible shopping.
OmaMehiläinen
I’v used different kinds of health care apps, and Mehiläinen company’s app OmaMehiläinen is my favorite. It’s very user friendly, easy to use and navigate. Mostly I use its digital clinic, to contact a nurse or doctor. Compered to some other health care apps, it informs you the estimated time until the specialist is available in the chat, and that is a feature I like. I chose OmaMehiläinen application, because it makes life much more easy. As I worker of Mehiläinen corporation, all the details about our occupational health care and the Mobile Benefits for workers are easily found in the app.
Digital gap
Not everybody has access to internet or mobile devices. That creates a digital gap. More and more of the services are only available on the internet. You also have to log in with online banking credentials for example, and that’s something that everyone doesn’t own. There is a lot of services that should be available for everyone, and it’s a problem, because many of the places requires identification in some way. People in the digital gap can’t for example book appointments online or use MyKanta. When the person needs to renew a prescription for medication, they have to contact the health care services in another way. It isn’t possible to do in MyKanta. The risk with not using virtual services is that you don’t get help as quick as needed. The processes are often much slower, if you try to fix it some other way. Digitalisation brings new opportunities, but accessibility is something to really think about.
Digital Competence test
Digital competence test results are what I expected. I handle the basics really good, but for example the laws and production are unfamiliar. I’m the person who people come to when they have problems with digital tools. I’v always been brave to try until I get something to work. I’m not afraid to click on different buttons, even if I don’t know what their function is. I’v learned a lot just by testing. Luckily I haven’t destroyed anything (yet at least :D).
Self-reflection
All of the sites where familiar to me, except the Digital Competence test. These assignments made me think about how lucky I, and most of the Finnish people are. We have great systems as Kela and Keva, and most of our population is using virtual services. That makes the digitalisation possible and useful. We know pretty far, which sites are reliable and which not.
Articles I commented on:
Hi, Petra!
And thank you for your blog. It was interesting to read about that you don’t do online shopping anymore from eBay. I think that it is ethical decision to avoid any online stores that use dubious circumstances to produce some material. I have used OmaMehiläinen as well and it seems to be a very useful application. It is nice to contact nurse or doctor via application when ever you want. I agree with you that there is a gap of using digital services, because not everyone has a possibility to use them. You wrote about your result in Digital competence test. Well, I’m also that kind of a person who tries to push buttons without being afraid of what might happen ;). Sometimes it would actually be very good to think twice before you do something. Easier said than done!
Have a nice spring!
🙂 Hanna https://blogi.savonia.fi/hannarepo/
Hello Petra,
I agree that you wrote about eBay as well. When I was younger, I used to order a lot of phone cases from eBay because of the low prices. Nowadays, I prefer to order phone accessories from Finnish companies, even if they are more expensive. I don’t use eBay much these days unless the product is being shipped by Europe. I trust more European sellers.
Hi Petra! eBay was very popular with young people some years ago. There was very low prices and the products came to home quickly. Nowadays it’s not so interesting place to shopping. As you wrote the products are made in terrible working conditions and now we know that better.
Sanna
https://blogi.savonia.fi/ikuinenopiskelija/
Hey!
Very interesting blog post! I can agree that access to digital services is still creating a gap between the population and countries. It is not made equal for everyone to access, as it costs to even have digital devices and internet connections and people need to be able to learn to use new technology. In that sense, us living in Finland have a quite good chance of using digital services despite some gaps, when it can be even more challenging in some developing countries.
This is already the second blog where Mehiläinen’s app is called good. I could not agree more. It’s great that they have made the app easy to use. It is also possible to add the information of a child over 10 years old. I wish others would follow suit and make an app that works and is easy to use. A bad app can make me leave that company.
Hi.
I liked you Digi citizen part. You have same kind of ideas as I do, especially in eBays product ethics. eBay is still going strong and new eCommerce places are popping.
I once ordered charging cable from Alibaba. That cacth fire on first charging time. Luckily it didnät burn anything.
I agree with you about the eBay. One can’t know what how un ethical and toxic things you are ordering. No China sites for me. I like most if I can buy with PayPal, it feels safer. One time when the whole company burn down before they sent my order I got my money back easily.
Mehiläinen app is great. Our local healthcare uses their app and it totally works. It is quite similar than Pihlajalinna’s app, cant say which are better but they definitely makes our lives so much easier and better!
Hi Petra!
It was nice to read your thoughts about lack of accessibility on digital services. I´m also worried for those who can not use digital services, for example old people or some disabled. Most of us find it easy and effective way to take care of things (pay bills, use medical services etc.) but for those who are out of reach with digital services might have trouble getting even necessary healtservices.
I also liked your thoughts about not to use unethical online-shops. Good thinking 🙂
Hello!
I agree with you about the OmaMehiläinen application. It is easy to use, because from there you can easily see if there is available time for a doctor you know. When my children were small, I used that application often, and it made it easier when I didn’t have to queue at customer service and I could also see the doctor’s orders from there. I think that digital services help in many things 🙂
Here is my blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/ullamahonen/