We supported increasing use of digital patient services and eAppointments through change coaching, communications and digital development. Software produced for managing the coronavirus pandemic facilitated uniform and effective processes for self-service coronavirus test sampling and vaccination appointment booking and for contact tracing and monitoring in Uusimaa.

The purpose of the Digital Transformation project, run as a strategic HUS project, was to promote and propagate the introduction of digital patient services in 13 component projects.

  • We handled 18.36% of elective outpatient care appointments through digital services, 
  • and 54.5% of our patients had adopted Maisa.
  • We cared for 17% of our patients through digital care pathways.

Increased awareness of the Health Village

We continued to develop the My Path service, digital care pathways and the My Path mobile app. 

  • We have produced about 200 digital care pathways for various patient groups. 
  • The My Path mobile app has been adopted at 72% of those of our units for whose patients we have provided digital care pathways. 
  • As at December 31, 2021, there were 36,230 patients signed in as active users of digital care pathways. 

Work on building the Health Village on a national basis continued even under the current extraordinary circumstances. Awareness of the Health Village grew: the public pages of the Health Village and the Mental Health Hub logged a total of 8.4 million visitors in 2021, with 15 million visits and 38.6 million page views.

We launched the Hearing Hub, the 33rd hub in the Health Village, a collaborative effort of the hearing centers at Finland’s university hospitals.

Health Village PRO service supporting digital transition

The Health Village PRO service consolidated its position as a publishing platform for guides and online courses for health and social services professionals. The service had nearly 60,000 users during the year under review, with nearly 800,000 page views and 220,000 sessions.  Health Village PRO users, having discovered the service, explored it more thoroughly than in the previous year.

There are e-competence coaching courses in this service for all health and social services professionals. In 2021, we published two online courses on digital transition: Organization Pioneer and Unit Digimentor. They provide support for health and social services professionals whose duties include promoting operational changes required by new digital services in their units.

Usage of remote consultations, or eConsultations, provided by specialist medical care professionals to primary health care professionals grew because of the pandemic. 

Digital services effective in managing the coronavirus pandemic

Coronabot

The coronabot is an application allowing residents of Uusimaa to book appointments at coronavirus testing points operated by HUS Diagnostic Center. Coronavirus test results are sent to residents by text message.

  • The number of self-service bookings made in the HUS area in the year under review was 1,891,940, of which 499,377 on behalf of another person. A further 304,246 bookings were made via the pro bot.
  • The total number of self-service bookings in all municipalities (including the HUS area) was 2,093,344, of which 521,528 on behalf of another person, and a further 362,628 bookings via the pro bot.

Local authority COVID helplines saved an estimated 190,000 person-days thanks to the Coronabot provided by HUS. 

In summer 2021, we launched the MyCovidData.fi website for printing out test results, and towards the end of the year we added a function for self-service collecting of contact data.

HAAVI

HAAVI software for contact tracing and monitoring allowed shared, effective tracing and monitoring processes by infectious disease units in municipalities in Uusimaa and by epidemiology experts at HUS.

HAAVI also automated information sharing on persons testing positive or exposed, from the HUS area to other HAAVI users, i.e. the Eksote, Kymsote and PPSHP hospital districts. Also, positive test results from four private health care service providers were automatically conveyed to the HAAVI system through integration.

During the year under review, 157,575 positive test results were analyzed with HAAVI software, and information of 291,305 exposed individuals were entered into the system.

FINENTRY

We worked with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare to design and deliver the FINENTRY system for COVID testing of persons entering Finland. The system was deployed at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on January 7, 2021. 

In deploying the service, we engaged in communications with ministries, transport operators, tourism operators and immigrant organizations. The FINENTRY PRO service was opened to provide guidelines for professionals working at entry points, and the FINENTRY EXPERT service was introduced as a further tool for professionals. FINENTRY was adopted by 19 hospital districts. 

In 2021, the FINENTRY.fi website logged 1,363,569 visitors, of which 612,300 entrants booked a coronavirus testing appointment through the service.

COVID vaccination appointment

An online COVID vaccination booking service, Koronarokotusaika.fi, was introduced jointly by municipalities in Uusimaa and by HUS on January 4, 2021. By the end of 2021, this service had been used to book appointments for residents of Uusimaa as follows:

  • 1,506,358 self-service COVID vaccination appointments
  • 1,167,393 COVID vaccination appointments booked by professionals

The application was updated on a weekly basis according to changing needs, guidelines, vaccination groups and availability of vaccines.