finland
Mrs Hannele Häkkinen HOPE Governor , The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities
Could you outline the strategy / approach adopted in your country on quality and patient safety or the two / three initiatives in the hospital and healthcare sector in the past 10 years ? According to the Healthcare Act ( No . 1326 / 2010 ), Section 8 on quality and patient safety , the provision of healthcare services shall be evidencebased . The healthcare services provided shall comply with the highest quality standards and be properly organised . Each healthcare unit shall produce a plan for quality management and for ensuring patient safety . The plan shall include arrangements for improving patient safety in cooperation with social services . The issues to be covered in the plan are laid down by decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health .
The Patient Safety Strategy has been released for the years 2017 – 2021 . It will help to develop a cohesive safety culture .
Disease-specific quality registers are patients ’ groups or disease-specific care monitoring systems that support the daily care of patients . They gather structured clinical data that can be used for monitoring the effectiveness and quality of treatments . Disease-specific quality registers are being used to monitor 52 disease groups . A register for 27 additional groups of diseases is under development .
HaiPro is a web-based tool for reporting patient safety incidents . It is used by over 200 social service and healthcare organisations of various sizes : from small healthcare centres to entire hospital districts . The HaiPro reporting system supports the development of procedures within the organisation .
The Healthcare and Social Services Act , stating the division of activities among hospitals , emergency services , first aid and emergency social services has been reformed in 2018 . The objective is to guarantee equal access to services , sufficient skills and knowledge , patient safety and to decrease health expenditure .
In Finland , the patient orientation is highlighted in healthcare planning , implementation and evaluation . Patients have been involved as experts in governmental working groups
The Health and Social Services Act reforming process is ongoing .
Could you present us the two / three expectations that your organisation / country have today on improving the quality of healthcare using the experiences and competencies of patients ? In Finland , the patient orientation is highlighted in healthcare planning , implementation and evaluation . Patients have been involved as experts in government working groups . The development of healthcare and social welfare provision will be based on patients ’ experiences and participation .
One of the government key projects is the establishment of a model based on expert ’ s experience and patient involvement . In Central Finland Healthcare District , forms of co-design have been developed in specialised medical care , primary healthcare , social welfare and municipal welfare work . The aim is to increase patient and citizen participation in planning , preparation and evaluation of healthcare services by collecting feedback on their experience . A model of co-design for patient-driven self-management of noncommunicable diseases was developed . Observations based on expert experience in psychiatric departments were provided in 2017 .
In Satakunta Hospital District , a patient panel participated in the planning and construction of a new hospital . The panel gathers patients ’ feedbacks to develop services and products and to create or test new ideas .
One of the government key projects is the development of virtual hospital services . Finnish university hospitals are building a joint national virtual hospital , which , in practical terms , means a digital service hub for specialist healthcare . It aims to develop patient-oriented digital healthcare services for citizens , patients and professionals . The project , which runs from 2016 to 2018 , is a joint initiative coordinated by the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District HUS . In developing digital healthcare services , the patients and their needs define the core of the service and the value chain that is built around it . In the Virtual Hospital 2.0 project , the patient ’ s voice has been affirmed in such a way that the current e-service development model brings patients , their close friends and patients ’ organisations into service planning and design .
Inclusion methods are based on patients ’ interviews , service design workshops , participation at working groups , and patient relationship management . The service design also includes experienced experts , peer educators , and specialist patients ’ organisations . finland
|
2000 |
2008 |
2015 |
Total health expenditure as % of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) |
6.8 % |
8.1 % |
9.4 % |
Percentage of current public expenditure on health as % of total current health expenditure |
71.2 % |
74.7 % |
74.4 % |
Hospital current health expenditure , as % of total current health expenditure |
32.6 % |
34.1 % |
35.2 % |
Out-of-pocket expenditure , % of current expenditure on health |
23.2 % |
19.6 % |
19.9 % |
All hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants |
754.0 |
657.0 |
435.0 |
Acute care hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants |
393.0 |
350.0 |
305.0 |
Acute care admissions / discharges per 100 inhabitants |
20.8 |
17.9 |
16.4 |
Average length of stay for acute care hospitals ( bed-days ) |
6.9 |
7.1 |
6.7 |
Practicing physicians per 100,000 inhabitants |
250.0 |
272.0 |
321.0 |
Practicing nurses per 100,000 inhabitants |
1071.0 |
1314.0 |
1466.0 |
28 HHE 2018 | hospitalhealthcare . com