Finnish approach to a fully digital healthcare

In mid-80’s COSTAR (the patient information system of Veteran’s Health Administration of that time) was transferred and modified for use in Finland first in primary and then in secondary care. These systems have now been phased out and replaced by more modern systems. However, thanks to the rather early start today practically all public and private health service providers use computerized patient record systems. Another major milestone was the founding of HL7 Finland in 1995 that put us firmly on the road of international industry standards. The move towards a fully digital health service system formally started in 2002 when the government decided that we need a nation-wide interoperable EPR system. This is now in implementation. The first application is ePrescription that will be launched in September 2008. After that an EPR service will start in 2009. Plans are currently underway for the 3rd phase of eServices that allow individuals and patients into manage their health and chronic diseases and to access their EPR and Personal Health Record. A number of pilot projects are running to pave the way to the 3rd phase.