The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, KELA
Since I live alone, have no children and work full-time, I only need a little of Kela’s services. Relating to these studies, I pay a compulsory healthcare fee once for term. I was born in Finland and I live in Finland, so I have a Kela card. By showing the card, I get a direct reimbursement of expenses at the pharmacy and most private medical clinics. In that case, I only pay the excess.
I am entitled to a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by Kela because I am health insured in Finland. I have already applied for the card years ago, when I have traveled in the European Union. Thanks to the card, I can receive medically necessary medical treatment when I travel or stay temporarily in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland. By showing the card, I get treatment at the same price as people living in the country.
OmaKanta
When logging into OmaKanta, I use either my own banks online codes or the ID card for regulated social welfare and healthcare professionals (professional ID). I use OmaKanta quite a lot. I check the prescriptions and doctor’s visit instructions there. I also received a certificate of corona vaccinations from OmaKanna when I traveled to Norway last winter to visit my brother.
Keva
My minimum retirement age is 66.5 years. If I continue working for about 2 years longer, I will receive about 350e more in pension per month. If I continue working until the age of 70, I will receive 550e more than at the lowest retirement age. After turning 70, the amount of the pension no longer increases, even if I continue to work. When I retire, I will be quite old, but I feel lucky that in Finland I have the opportunity to have such a pension that I can get by well.
Digital shops
I use digital stores quite a lot. I mostly buy clothes online. I would prefer to use domestic stores, but as someone who wears larger clothing sizes, the selection in Finland is quite small and expensive. I trust domestic online stores and before buying I try to make sure that there is a Finnish contact information in the online store in case of a problem.
For example, the online store Zizzi is one that I have used often. When I go to the website, I am told how my personal data is used and I get to choose the scope of use. It is also possible to order the products in the store from the online store and return them from there easily if necessary. When ordering from foreign online stores, returning is expensive and is often not done. I have occasionally ordered clothes from, for example, the online store Shein. There you can get clothes from a wide selection in my size and the clothes are much cheaper than in domestic stores. I don’t order from overseas often because Shein is not a very ethical place to shop. There is a lot of talk on social media about how the position of employees is bad. In addition, when clothes are cheap, they are ordered more than is needed. The large amount of clothes and their transport put a burden on nature. When paying in online stores, you must be careful that it can be done safely. There are separate services for that, such as Paypal and Klarna.
When booking trips or accommodation, consumers nowadays have a big job if they want to find the cheapest option. When I book a hotel, for example, I compare prices through different services. I look directly at the hotel website and at various online stores such as Booking.com and Hotels.com. Where the cheapest price can be found varies. Even if it is the same hotel and the same time.
Application from my own field in hospital and digital gab
I myself use a lot of online services. At work I use a laptop, but in my free time I usually use a mobile phone. I use my mobile phone for things like shopping and paying bills. My daughters were born in the early 90s. Both of their families also use cell phones to run errands. They only have a computer for gaming. Due to this current trend, it is important that services are offered in a form that can be used on a mobile phone.
I chose digital treatment paths because I have used digital treatment paths and been involved in developing them. The digital treatment path is part of the Terveykylä.fi service and provides a communication platform between the treatment unit and the patient. The online platform can, for example, convey information to the patient and the patient can answer queries or ask questions to the treatment unit. The digital treatment path has been in use for almost five years. We are only now starting to get to the point where we can start using the mobile application. This is a feature that customers have repeatedly requested. The mobile application enables an easier login to the service, when the user can activate a PIN code or use, for example, a fingerprint or facial recognition for identification. In addition, thanks to the mobile application, using the service is easier than using a mobile phone via the website. When implementing the application, the service provider reviews the contents so that, for example, the contents are not too long and the images are easy to view on a mobile phone.
I have noticed that private companies often have the opportunity to spend more money on developing applications and they are actually done by professionals who specialize in developing digital services. The Omapolku service is developed with society’s funds, so to speak. Limited funds slow down development and limit the number of available professionals.
When we offer services via the internet in the hospital, we must make sure that no one is left out of the service. At the moment, the patient has the option to choose whether he wants to use digital services or whether he prefers the service according to the traditional model. In addition, the accessibility of the service must be taken into account when developing digital services. The service must be able to be used with the help of a screen reader, for example, if the user has vision problems, videos must have subtitles for the hearing impaired, etc. Nor can we assume that everyone has sufficient knowledge and tools to use digital services. We must provide guidance on how to use the service and equipment as needed.
Three blogs that I commented
The digital competence test
I scored 79% on the digital proficiency test. I am in level 6 (advanced user). Advanced users can, for example, find the most suitable solution for solving most problems. Based on the test, my strongest areas are collaboration, search and social awareness. I did get recommendation to improve my skills in configuration, storage and storage. Below is picture of my results.
Self-reflection
I really liked this assignment. The topic covered a lot of topics I was familiar with. However, it made me think about how much things happen in my life every day in the digital world. The topic also made me think about how difficult it can be to live in today’s world if you can’t use any or only a few digital services. It is important to remember and support these people.
It was also a good reminder for myself to realize how much information there is about me online in various digital services. Cyberattacks could really do a lot of damage to my life.
And again, it was very interesting to read other people’s writings and thoughts on the subject.