KELA
In my family I’m the only one who use KELA. And the only thing that I do with KELA is the payment for healthcare fee for students in higher education. When I studied at the university of applied sciences, I received study and housing allowance from KELA. KELA is an important part of the lives of many Finnish families. It’s great that we have KELA in Finland.
I have already European Health Care Card. I got a European Health Care Card before I traveled abroad for the first time. I always keep the card in my wallet.
OmaKanta
You can log in to the OmaKanta service with your bank ID at kanta.fi. OmaKanta is an important service in Finnish healthcare. It allows patients to, for example, view laboratory test results or request a prescription renewal. In OmaKanta, you can also read what the doctor has written there after the appointment. Sometimes a doctor’s appointment can be exciting, so you don’t remember everything that was said. You can also write a living will and an organ donation will there. I have written a living will because if I get injured for example in a car accident and I can’t tell anymore my own wishes, the nurses and doctors will know what I’ve been thinking. In OmaKanta you can also write your own measurement results, for example blood pressure or blood sugar. You can also check which vaccines you have received and when.
KEVA
On the KEVA website, I was able to calculate the amount of my pension if I retire at the age of 68 or 70. At the age of 68 it would be 2,658 euros and at the age of 70 it would be 3,002 euros. In Finland, many people want to work even after they have reached retirement age. The pension becomes much bigger if you work for example two years longer.
Digi markets
When I compared prices between online stores and local stores, many online stores are much cheaper. This is certainly influenced by many things.
When you buy a product from Finland, you usually trust that the product is well made and that the person who made the product gets a good salary for their work. When you order a product from abroad and the price is really much cheaper, there is often something negative behind it. It could be that the worker gets a really low salary or the materials are not safe to use.
When ordering products from far away abroad, you can’t be sure whether the product will ever arrive. And if the product is defective or you want to return it, for example, the company may not respond to your contacts.
Before I buy products from abroad or use international services, I read reviews about the website. I also want to find contact information on the page.
A digital service in my field
Smart Symptom Check is a feature widely used in healthcare. First, the patient must fill out a symptom questionnaire. The smart application selects the next questions based on the previous questions. Finally, the application summarizes the patient’s answers. The doctor then reviews the patient’s information and provides, for example, a prescription and follow-up care instructions.
I have used this myself in occupational health care. I think it works really well and speeds up the process. The doctor doesn’t have to spend so much time asking questions. The application may ask at first, for example, ”Why are you contacting healthcare?” and the answer options may be fever, flu, stomach ache, sore throat, cough, etc. When you select, for example, sore throat, the application asks ”Have you had a fever during the symptoms?” and ”How many days have the symptoms lasted?”. At the end, the application asks ”How much information do you have about these symptoms?” and ”How worried are you about your situation?”. The answers are ”Yes” or ”No” or, for example, a number. The last question in the survey is an open question where you can write text freely. After the survey, the application informs you how long you have to wait.
People outside of virtual services
Some people are out of the virtual services if they not know how to use digital devices or do not have the money to buy them. People with, for example, poor eyesight or other limitations can also fall into the digital gap. This kind of people cannot use services independently and in real time. For example, people may find it difficult to use various services without digital devices.
I think the digital gap affects older people the most. The biggest challenge in using digital services is that older people are not used to using them and learning them is difficult and slow, for some even impossible. In many places, health stations are being closed and services are being moved further away from citizens. In that case, using digital services would be very beneficial. The fact that there are many different menus and text on the pages of digital healthcare services certainly poses challenges. If an elderly person does not know how to use digital services, their health can suffer.
Nowadays, it is assumed that everyone can use digital services. For example, the doctor had told my grandfather that he should measure his blood pressure and write it down in OmaKanta, but he has not learned how to use it. We write down his blood pressure there together when I visit him, but not everyone has grandchildren to help with this kind of things.
Digital Competence Test
I took the digital literacy test. It was an eye-opener. I realized that I am quite careless with data protection. The questions were specific and there were a lot of them.
Self evaluation
Doing this section taught me something new about data protection. Otherwise, the topics were quite common and mundane. For me, writing and reading English is difficult and takes a lot of time. So this section didn’t teach me much new stuff, but I learned new English words and that’s the most important goal of this course for me.
Blogs that I commented:
Hi! Good thoughts, especially about the people who fall easily into digital gap due to physical limitations such as poor eyesight. I believe that it’s important to make digital services more simple to use and consistent with each other, so that learning and using them would be easier. Adding various accessibility features on digital websites would be helpful for elders who struggle to use healthcare platforms for example.
Hi Siiri, you have a thoroughly interesting blog that is enjoyable to read, with a unique and personal design as well. I read your blog, particularly the section about digital shopping. I noticed that my thoughts are quite similar when it comes to ordering from abroad. If the prices are much cheaper, there might be something behind it that could be negative. Personally, I am quite cautious and even a bit skeptical about the overwhelming variety of online stores. That’s why I often prefer Finnish products, and this somewhat limits my own online shopping as well.
And I also paid attention to your writing about the challenges of digitalization concerning the aging population; I feel this is a very close issue to me. The elderly often find digitalization difficult, and as you mentioned, they need a lot of help. This will be a big challenge.
Wishing you a wonderful spring and joy in your studies!
-Anna
Anna´s blog site: https://blogi.savonia.fi/annapakarinen/
Thank you for sharing your honest and personal reflections. I really appreciated the practical examples you used—like helping your grandfather use OmaKanta. It clearly showed how digitalization can be helpful but also difficult for some, especially older people. That part felt very human and thoughtful.
Your explanation of Smart Symptom Check was clear and interesting. It was great to hear how you’ve personally used it and how it makes healthcare more efficient.
The section about online vs. local shopping was also well-written. You made good points about trust, quality, and the ethical concerns behind cheap prices.
Your text was easy to follow and relatable. You also showed strong awareness of the benefits and limitations of digitalization in real life. Thank you for writing this—it was enjoyable and meaningful to read!