The digital revolution continues: Self-measured data is integrated with healthcare services in groundbreaking practical trial in Hämeenlinna

Peak expiratory flow measurements for asthmatics, the self-measurement of blood pressure and blood sugar at home, weight tracking, as well as recording measurement data and linking it to a healthcare system, are examples of new kinds of self care e-services that the Finnish telecommunications, ICT and online service company Elisa and the City of Hämeenlinna will provide to residents of Hämeenlinna in a practical trial to be launched in the summer of 2015. In addition, mobile technology and mobile applications which have already become part of people’s daily lives, such as HealthKit by Apple, will be further embedded in the healthcare system.
 
The minunterveyteni.fi e-service (my health) launched in Hämeenlinna in March 2015, which is advanced technology even by global standards, will be developed further this summer. A practical trial to begin in the summer will introduce new digital meters for use by the healthcare system and individual clients. The aim is to make the resulting data even more plentifully available to both the health services and the healthcare system.

“The residents of Hämeenlinna will gain added value from the self-measurement service – the measurement data will not be the preserve of healthcare professionals; patients themselves can use it as they see fit. With improved data transfer, the quality of healthcare services in health centres and hospitals will be enhanced, bringing further benefits to healthcare clients,” says Project Manager Jari Numminen from Hämeenlinna.

The features of the minunterveyteni.fi e-service include an automated personalised health assessment and the provision of reminders and recommendations for treatment based on users’ medical records. Users can also participate in various health promotion programmes via the system. All of the health advice provided via the service is based on the national Current Care Guidelines. An additional service, to be introduced in late 2015, will be used to test the transmission of patients’ self-measured data for analysis by the minunterveyteni.fi e-service and healthcare professionals.

Elisa’s mobile self-measurement service (Elisa Etämittaus) will instruct users on how to perform measurements in the right way at the right time. The City of Hämeenlinna will purchase all measurement devices and equipment necessary for the transmission of the measurement results and offer them to healthcare clients deemed suitable for and willing to participate in testing the new service model.

For example, clients participating in health promotion programmes involving weight tracking will be able to use various tools and applications to record tracking data (steps, sleep, weight) on their personal health accounts. Healthcare professionals will then be able to access such data, with the client’s consent. A personal health account also provides clients with a means of storing and managing their data.

Digitisation is leading to increased and diversified use of mobile devices for healthcare purposes.

“The Elisa Etämittaus mobile service is a good example of a new service that benefits both healthcare professionals and health service clients. It enables users to keep track of their state of health any time and anywhere in a reliable and cost-efficient manner,” says Director of Products Tuomas Mäkynen of Elisa Appelsiini.

According to Lead Specialist Eero Raunio of Sitra, this is a wholly new type of practical trial, which will provide new information on the impact of health data measurement on the service system’s overall performance. The results of the trial can be disseminated later for use on a national scale.   

“Use of self-measured data has been tested alongside conventional healthcare service provision before, but only on small groups of people. On this occasion, the target group is larger and the testing will be linked to a previous change in practices, while making use of the existing minunterveyteni.fi e-service,” says Raunio.

The minunterveyteni.fi e-service being used in Hämeenlinna is based on the virtual clinic operating model developed by Sitra and its partners.

For further information, please contact:

Jari Numminen, Project Manager, City of Hämeenlinna, tel. +358 50 400 4213, jari.numminen@hameenlinna.fi
Tuomas Mäkynen, Director, Elisa Appelsiini,  tel. +358 44 331 58 74, tuomas.makynen@elisa.fi