A review of telemedicine services in Finland

Abstract

Telemedicine is gaining popularity due to the provision of ubiquitous health care services that is a fundamental need for every socialized society. In this paper, telemedicine services in Finland are discussed, as well as how they came into existence, how they are funded, evaluated, and what are their impacts on health care systems and society. Telemedicine services like teleradiology, telelaboratory, telepsychiatry and remote consultations, are being offered in all hospital districts. Primary health care centers in Finland are lacking telemedicine services, and are planning to have them. Electronic Patient Records (EPR), with e-referral and e-discharge letters, have prevented patients from unnecessary repeated laboratory examinations and treatments. The e-Archive (Finland's national EPR) is in the planning stage, making EPR on national level, to promote ease of access to patient records and ubiquitous care. The e-Prescription project is also in the planning stage, which aims to enhance drug safety, prevent forged prescription, and prevent threat to a patient's life. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.