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Madis Tiik, a former CEO of the E-Tervise foundation, has been recruited to advise Sitra in the development of electronic self-care solutions.
An Estonian physician and an expert in electronic patient data systems, Madis Tiik started working on Monday 24th September for Sitra as a senior advisor. Tiik’s work will largely be in the field of electronic self-care solutions but he will also provide consulting for other healthcare reform projects when necessary.
”Tiik is a solid expert in the development of electronic solutions which make for easier care. Through his employment at Sitra, his expertise is also more extensively available for all of Finland,” says Antti Kivelä, Director at Sitra.
Tiik, a physician who specialises in the IT sector, is a lecturer and a project manager at the Tallinn University of Technology, a part-time family physician on the island of Vorms, and he is also finishing his doctoral studies at the Tallinn University of Technology. He was the fixed-term CEO of Eesti E-Tervise Sihtasutus in 2007–2011, during which time the foundation was responsible for building the electronic patient data system of Estonia. Whenever there has been discussion in Finland about patient data system reform, Estonia’s electronic patient data system has been highlighted as an example of a successful and inexpensive project.
The patient data system reform has stirred a lot of discussion in Finland.
“Sitra is not a procurement party for the patient data system, but we are performing background work to support the actual decision making,” says Kivelä. “We are happy that an acquisition of this significance generates extensive discussion and we hope that the discussion guides the parties to pay attention to Finland’s key challenges. Hiring Tiik is not directly related to continuing the patient data system review but of course it reinforces our expertise in this sector.”
Based on his experience obtained in Estonia, Tiik believes that he has a lot to give to the development of the Finnish healthcare system’s electronic services: “The ten-year IT society build-up project in Estonia has provided a good platform for electronic services in all sectors. Estonia has avoided a situation where it has to build data security or verification services for only one function, such as healthcare. Everyone in Estonia uses a digital ID card, for example.”