25.4. alkaen päijäthämäläiset saavat digitaalisia terveyspalveluja uudistetusta Päijät-Sote-sovelluksesta. Uusi Päijät-Sote digialusta perustuu BeeHealthyn SuomiSote-alustaan ja palvelut toimittaa Harjun terveys.  

– SuomiSote alusta on pitkän kehitystyön tulos, jossa BeeHealthyn kansainvälisestikin menestynyttä alustaa on yhä kehitetty eteenpäin suomalaisten hyvinvointialueiden ja niiden asukkaiden tarpeisiin. Päijät-Hämeen hyvinvointialue ja Harjun terveys ovat olleet avainasemassa tässä kehitystyössä ja on mahtavaa saada lopputulos alueella käyttöön. Alustan myötä asukkaat saavat jo nyt parhaimmat digitaaliset palvelut, mutta sen lisäksi alustan kehitys jatkuu intensiivisesti. Odotamme innolla, että mahdollisimman moni alueella lataisi uuden sovelluksen, toteaa BeeHealthyn toimitusjohtaja Oskari Eskola. 

– Harjun terveyden toimittama Digiklinikka tuo päijäthämäläisille Suomen parhaat julkiset digipalvelut. Viime vuonna asiointeja oli jo 40 000 ja uskon suosion edelleen kasvavan uuden sovelluksen myötä. Digiklinikalla on iso merkitys perusterveydenhuollon palveluvalikoimassa ja se soveltuu monenlaisten asioiden hoitoon, toteaa Harjun terveyden toimitusjohtaja Petja Orre.  

Erityisenä kehityskohteena uudessa sovelluksessa ovat olleet käyttäjäystävällisyys ja selkeys. Päijät-Sote -sovelluksessa toimivat lääkärin vastaanotto, puolesta asiointi sekä kyselyiden lähettäminen.  

– Sovelluksessa asiakas voi lisäksi asioida terveydenhoidon ammattilaistiimin luona, tarkastella laboratoriotietoja ja käyntikertomustekstejä. Hän voi myös tarkastella ja peruuttaa ajanvarauksiaan. Myöhemmin sovellukseen saadaan muun muassa omat mittaustulokset, mikä mahdollistaa käyttäjän omien mittauslaitteiden, kuten verenpainemittarin, tietojen lisäämisen sovellukseen, Päijät-Hämeen hyvinvointialueen digipalveluiden tuotepäällikkö Rami Autio selventää. ’ 

Uuden alustan myötä Digiklinikan ammattilaiset toimivat Päijät-Hämeen alueellisessa potilastietojärjestelmässä. Tämä lisää digivastaanottojen soveltuvuutta yhä useampiin asioihin ja samalla se vapauttaa sote-keskusten ammattilaisten aikaa fyysisiin vastaanottoihin niitä tarvitseville. 

Uudistunut sovellus korvaa alueella aiemmin käytössä olleen OmaMehiläisen teknisen alustan päällä toimineen sovelluksen. Palvelut toimittaa entiseen tapaan Harjun terveys oy. 

Tavoitteena saavutettava asiointi ajasta ja paikasta riippumatta 

Hyvinvointialuejohtaja Petri Virolaisen  mukaan Päijät-Sote-sovellus vastaa monen asiakkaan toiveisiin. Tavoitteena on, että vuoden loppuun mennessä joka kolmas päijäthämäläinen lataa sovelluksen.   

– Sähköinen asiointi on yhteiskunnassamme laajalti käytössä monissa julkisissa palveluissa. Tavoitteenamme on, että siitä tulee myös sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluissa luonteva ja keskeinen asiointiväylä. Fyysinen tapaaminen ei aina ole välttämätön asian hoitamiseksi, Virolainen toteaa.  

– Haluamme tarjota asiakkaille vaikuttavia, kustannustehokkaita ja saavutettavia palveluita sekä erinomaista asiakaskokemusta. Päijät-Sote -sovellus edistää hoitoon pääsyä ja työn sujuvuutta sekä parantaa sähköisen asioinnin laatua. Se tukee myös kestävän kehityksen periaatteitamme: palvelua saa vaikkapa kotisohvalta ilman, että tarvitsee ajella palvelupisteeseen, Virolainen kuvaa.  

Rami Aution mukaan uudistus merkitsee uuden ajan alkua päijäthämäläisten sosiaali- ja terveyspalvelujen kehityksessä.  

– Sovellus yhdistää jatkossa julkisen puolen digipalvelut samalle alustalle ja tuo palvelut asiakkaalle yhden painalluksen päähän, Autio sanoo. 
  

Ohje Päijät-Sote-sovelluksen käyttöönottoon paijat-sote.fi/paijat-sote-sovellus  

Sovellusta voi käyttää myös osoitteessa paijatsote.suomisote.fi.  

  

 

Mr. Oskari Eskola has been nominated Managing Director of the Mehiläinen wholly owned subsidiary BeeHealthy starting 1.1.2023. BeeHealthy develops and provides a digital patient engagement SaaS platform to healthcare providers and payors internationally.

Prior to this nomination, Mr. Eskola worked as a Business Unit Director with responsibility for BeeHealthy and Mehiläinen healthcare services in Sweden and Germany. Going forward Mehiläinen country manager in Sweden will report to Managing Director of Public Healthcare Dr. Markku Näreneva and Mehiläinen country manager in Germany will report to Managing Director of Private Healthcare Mr. Anssi Hartiala.

”BeeHealthy has reached a point where we need Oskari’s full focus on continuing the fast growth and path to profitability. Oskari has a strong track record in international management, business development and financial markets. This experience is an excellent fit with BeeHealthy’s next growth stage”, comments Mr. Janne-Olli Järvenpää, Mehiläinen Group CEO

”BeeHealthy is in the middle of a very exciting growth phase. We have partnered with leading healthcare providers in over 10 different countries and we have succeeded in building a world-class digital healthcare development team. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to develop BeeHealthy into an independent, profitable and fast growing software company”, says Mr. Eskola.

BeeHealthy has won the Impact of the Year 2022 Award in the Society category with the SuomiSote remote service platform and for its digitally-enabled care model for the long-term sick. The Impact of the Year Awards* aim to highlight issues, actions, innovations and successes that promote the effectiveness of social welfare and health care in Finland. The winners were honoured at the 100 Health Influencers 2022 event by Mediuutiset at Alma-Talo on Friday, 2 December. 

“Finns deserve world-class digital channels to take care of their health. This award is a great recognition of our team’s uncompromising work for smoother social welfare and health care services,” says Sampo Oksanen, Commercial Lead of BeeHealthy. 

“The SuomiSote service platform combines the best of public and private healthcare digital services expertise. Harjun Terveys and Päijät-Häme and Länsi-Uusimaa wellbeing services counties have been pioneers in the development. It is a privilege to be able to offer our digital services to Finland’s wellbeing services counties,” says Anni Iso-Mustajärvi, Director of BeeHealthy, who received the award. 

“We first started offering our remote health platform to healthcare professionals abroad under the BeeHealthy brand. We already have customers in 12 countries, including the largest primary healthcare clinic chain in the Netherlands, known for its value-based healthcare, and the largest hospital chain in Switzerland, known for its excellent specialised health care,” says Iso-Mustajärvi. 

The winner was chosen by a panel of judges made up of representatives from the political, health, social, research, and business worlds. Paula Risikko, a Member of Parliament, chaired the panel. The panel’s reasoning for the award was as follows: 

“The remote consultation platform will enable patients and social care services clients to be served easily, quickly and cost-effectively. The work can help to improve the availability, continuity and accessibility of care and services. It has great potential and, if successful, can address efficiency challenges in the wellbeing services counties. It is a new way to drive forward the development of service delivery and patient-centredness. It has a clear track record of effective implementation, efficiency, scale and scalability of the treatment time guarantee.”

SuomiSote for smarter social welfare and health care 

SuomiSote is a comprehensive remote service platform solution that enables the wellbeing services counties to provide digital services to one-time visitors, the long-term sick and social care services customers in the same channel, easily, quickly and cost-effectively.  

The solution will improve the availability, continuity and accessibility of care and services and allow health care professionals to focus on patient care. SuomiSote has made a difference to access to care by reducing waiting times by more than 20 days for immediate access to care. It also frees up professionals’ time for patients who need it in physical surgeries and on-call services, for example by automating the collection of preliminary data. This will allow more patients to be treated with the same resources, with proven excellence in quality of care. Both patients and professionals have given high marks to the approach. 

SuomiSote service platform also supports better and more effective care for the long-term sick 

BeeHealthy and Mehiläinen are the first to offer support to the chronically ill through their digital platform. An extensive digital physical treatment and coaching methodology in the treatment paths of chronically ill patients has been built, aiming to support patients in making sustainable lifestyle changes. The cornerstones of the solution are remote monitoring, which enables remote support and coaching, as well as early intervention. The treatment events are no longer reviews that take place months apart, but support daily lifestyle changes. Preliminary results show that patients are well on track to achieve their target weight loss, which in the best-case scenario, will allow, for example, type 2 diabetes remission. 

Read more:www.suomisote.fi

*) Source: Organiser of the competition Vaikuttavuusseura ry 

Further information: 

– Mehiläinen, Sampo Oksanen, Commercial Lead of BeeHealthy
– Mehiläinen, Anni Iso-Mustajärvi, Director of BeeHealthy
– Contacts via Salla Tähtinen, Mehiläinen Communications, salla.tahtinen@mehilainen.fi, tel. +358 (0)50 554 3832 

 

Mehiläinen will launch healthcare service packages with a monthly fee during the remainder of the year. The packages include digital physician and nurse services and they are designed specifically for light entrepreneurs, families with children, students and pensioners.

Over the past couple of years, the significant transition to digital healthcare services has continued, while there is also a strong need and demand for traditional appointments. The number of digital physician appointments at Mehiläinen this year is breaking the milestone of one million appointments.

Mehiläinen’s service packages with a monthly fee serve customers in a new way: the customer makes an agreement with Mehiläinen, which provides them unlimited access to the digital healthcare services included in the service package. The service packages are based on a careful analysis of customer needs.

– “There are large customer segments in Finland who need to manage their health issues in a new way. We are responding the to changed purchasing and consumption habits by tailoring service packages for different stages of life and customer segments in addition to traditional appointment-based brick-and-mortar services,” says Karolus Viitala, Mehiläinen’s Business Unit Director, Private Customers.

– “A comprehensive network of conventional appointment services will continue to be needed for a wide range of health issues that cannot be dealt with online. However, there is still great potential for continuing the digital leap in health and well-being, especially with regard to chat-based doctor and nurse appointments. Mehiläinen is at the forefront of the development of chat-based healthcare from the point of view of both customer experience and the efficiency of medical work. We are now applying our experience in our service packages,” Viitala adds.

Support for light entrepreneurs and everyday advice for families with children

The packages with monthly fees make it easier to contact a doctor or nurse and lower the threshold for taking care of your health whenever concerns or questions arise.

– “For example, light entrepreneurs are a growing group of employees in a changing working life, thanks to the rising popularity of sole proprietorship and freelance work. At the moment, however, there are no comprehensive healthcare service packages specifically designed for them. We have a strong background as an expert of working life, and we also want to be a pioneer of services designed for light entrepreneurs. We are now offering them a monthly package, where the customer has access to a Digital Clinic doctor, the Puhti health examination and important occupational well-being content.”

Viitala also mentions families with children as a targeted customer group of the new service packages. Digital doctor services have been popular among families with children for a long time. Now, Mehiläinen can offer them low-threshold support for various concerns. The service offers extensive advice from carefully selected digital nurses whenever it is needed.

– “Medical services are focused on the treatment and prevention of diseases. However, parents often need advice on everyday matters, such as breastfeeding problems, the child’s sleep patterns or the eruption of teeth. This is what we are now bringing to the everyday life of families with children,” says Viitala. 

Over a million digital transactions

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Mehiläinen’s Digital Clinic has become a popular channel for maintaining one’s own health and well-being. More than a million doctor visits have taken place at Digital Clinic this year.

– “Our view is that the digital transition of private customers is still very much incomplete. This interpretation is supported by feedback and data from our customers. Over 80% of Digital Clinic users are occupational health customers, while in terms of traditional appointments, the corresponding figure is just over half. Many Finnish private customers would benefit from the possibilities of digital services if they were tailored according to their needs,” Viitala concludes.

The service packages combine digital services and a flexible service model to meet not only the needs of customers, but also the needs of professionals in the sector to carry out their work regardless of time and their location.

More information:

Mehiläinen, Karolus Viitala, Business Unit Director, Private Customers
Contacts via Laura Martinsuo, Communications, Mehiläinen, laura.martinsuo@mehilainen.fi, tel. +358 (0)40 1962 892

Päijät-Sote Digital Clinic was introduced to the municipal residents of Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki at the end of December 2021. The action has a successful start.

Päijät-Sote’s digital services have brought smoothness to the health services of the residents of Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki since the beginning of the year. At Digital Clinic, treatment has been achieved quickly: on average, the help of a general practitioner has been received within about 17 minutes. More than 3,500 discussions have already been conducted at Digital Clinic.

– Rapid access to treatment is one of the most important objectives of our digital services, and this has been well implemented in Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki. We have been able to take advantage of the excellent lessons learned from Harjun terveys in launching the new operating model successfully within the well-being services county in other municipalities and activities in the region, says Ossi Laukkanen, Director of Digital Health Services at Mehiläinen, which provides the service.

You can get help from Digital Clinic, for example, for sudden abdominal, eye, skin and upper respiratory symptoms. In addition to aches and other problems in the oral area, you can visit the digital clinic’s oral health care service channel for various treatment instructions and advice. The ‘Worry about coping’ service channel provides discussion help on mental health, substance abuse and interpersonal challenges.

– The most common reasons for contacting Digital Clinic in the Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki areas have been upper respiratory tract infections, including Covid-19. Gastric disease, urinary tract infections and eye infections also arise in diagnoses made at Digital Clinic in the region, says Essi Kainonen, Medical Director of BeeHealthy and Mehiläinen Digital Health Services.

Users of digital services can be found in the region in a wide range of age groups. The largest user groups can be found in the age group 20-49 years. People over the age of 60 have also found the service well. In Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki, around 9% of the discussions have been conducted with that age group.

– We have also extensively served children at Digital Clinic. They accounted for about 13% of the discussions. The next expansion in the development of our services in Hollola, Asikkala and Padasjoki will be the introduction of a children’s service channel at the end of the autumn. We already have an excellent track record with children’s services, too, from Harjun terveys, says Laukkanen.

The Päijät-Sote digital application can be used in a web browser or in an application that are tailored to Päijät-Sote’s brand and needs. For Harjun terveys customers, Digital Clinic has been in use since the beginning of 2021. All in all, more than 65,000 discussions have been held in Harjun terveys during its operations.

Arts en Zorg has a proven track record in providing innovative health services and is the forerunner in their field. The company is the largest primary healthcare provider of the Netherlands and serves more than 300.000 patients. Target is to create value together by building a hybrid healthcare system that is sustainable, endures and improves accessibility to quality healthcare. Both parties believe that bringing the knowledge and insight from the digital clinic operation model of Mehiläinen in the Nordics together with Arts en Zorg expertise in the Netherlands will significantly impact the access to care and it will improve the professionals’ way of working in a digi-physical setting.  

The platform enables Arts en Zorg to offer comprehensive digital access to care to complement their extensive physical network. The company will utilize all BeeHealthy platform modules in native apps that will be launched under the Gezond.nl service offerings. The platform gives a lot of flexibility for Arts en Zorg to create and manage a new type of digital offering via the innovative admin tools. Patients will have on demand access to healthcare professionals and immediate access to follow-up care. 

“We chose BeeHealthy as our strategic partner for developing a new type of advanced digital clinic. Their holistic platform combined with their established background as a healthcare provider and knowledge of innovation, made them the right fit. Together we believe we can have a substantial impact on the user experience of patients and healthcare professionals”, says Amon van den Borg, CEO Arts en Zorg Group. 

”We are very excited about the collaboration with such an innovative player as Arts en Zorg and its digital initiative Gezond.nl. We share the same ambition and culture which builds a good foundation for the advancements planned for Dutch healthcare”, comments Anni Iso-Mustajärvi, Director of Saas Platform in BeeHealthy. 

Additional information: 

• BeeHealthy, Director, Saas Platform, Anni Iso-Mustajärvi, anni.iso-mustajarvi@beehealthy.com, tel. + 358 44 270 3691
• Arts en Zorg, CEO Arts en Zorg Group, Amon van den Borg, info@artsenzorg.nl  
   

Arts en Zorg 
Arts en Zorg Group is the largest primary care organisation in the Netherlands. Its mission is to provide direct access to high quality healthcare for everyone, anywhere, anytime. The Arts en Zorg Group consists of three divisions: (1) nationwide primary care network with health centres (Arts en Zorg)and digital first practices (DocLine); (2) commissioned care, such as the health maintenance organisation for asylum seekers & refugees (GZA/RMA)or primary care support to the police, and (3) health technology, developing online services (Gezond.nl) and data infrastructure. With these ventures Arts en Zorg is working to continuously innovate and advance healthcare. 

BeeHealthy  
Subsidiary of the Mehiläinen Group, BeeHealthy Oy offers digital healthcare software, solutions and services to healthcare providers and payers globally. BeeHealthy leverages tested and proven solutions developed for the highly advanced and competitive Finnish digital healthcare markets in partnership with Mehiläinen Group. With over 1 million users in the Platform, over 70 highly skilled software developers and global deployments in 10 different countries, BeeHealthy is rapidly becoming a leading digital healthcare solutions provider in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. More information: beehealthy.com

In 2018–2019, Mehiläinen participated in the Quantifying Human Experience for Increased Intelligence Within Work Teams and in the Customer Interface (HUMEX) project coordinated by the University of Helsinki, which aimed to produce new information about the mechanisms of high-quality digital interaction. In the subproject carried out at Mehiläinen, the conveyance of empathy between the physician and the patient in the Digital Clinic’s chat environment was studied.

The scientific journal Psychosomatic Medicine approved the peer-reviewed article written about the study for their May issue.

– The proposal to participate in the research project was submitted by the University of Helsinki, who were looking for business partners who develop their customer experience in a determined and unprejudiced manner. For Mehiläinen, the research project offered a new type of possibility to study the functionality of customer interaction in Digital Clinic. Mehiläinen carries out scientific research work actively, and it is wonderful that the first scientific article about Digital Clinic has now been published, says Mehiläinen’s Customer Insight Manager Soili Peltola, who is one of the authors of the article.

– Research results show that the patient’s experience of empathy shown by the physician is not only important in face-to-face meetings, but also when the interaction happens in a chat. The results indicate that it is useful to develop methods that support the patient’s experience of empathy in online interaction with physicians, says Peltola.

Business Unit Director, Digital Health Services Ossi Laukkanen and his team were in charge of the practical design and implementation of the research setting. In addition to the symptom questionnaire described in the article, the University of Helsinki research team provided Mehiläinen with an analysis of the chat interaction between the physician and the patient as well as a feedback questionnaire for the Digital Clinic physicians to support the development of Digital Clinic. Whenever new results were available, they were reviewed by the Digital Clinic team under the supervision of the University of Helsinki researchers.

Study in a nutshell: Perceptions of Doctors’ Empathy and Patients’ Subjective Health Status at an Online Clinic

Medical doctors’ empathy is known to support patients’ health status after face-to-face clinical visits. However, the role of doctors’ empathy in chat-based encounters is not yet well understood. This study investigates whether patients’ evaluations of doctors’ empathy are associated with their health perceptions after a meeting at an online clinic and whether experiences of empathy could be enhanced by augmenting an automated anamnesis questionnaire completed before the visit.

A total of 209 adult patients agreed to participate in the study. First 103 patients filled out the regular version of the questionnaire (June–August 2019) and then 106 filled out the augmented version of the online anamnesis questionnaire (August–November 2019). Patients’ perceptions of doctors’ empathy were measured with the Consultation and Relational Empathy questionnaire. Patients’ self-perceived health status, potential confounders, and demographic background information were measured via questionnaires.

Patients’ perceptions of doctors’ empathy during a chat-based encounter were associated with patients being less concerned about their symptoms and considering their symptoms as less severe, as well as a higher probability of alleviation of symptoms as rated by the patients. Augmenting the anamnesis questionnaire did not affect patient reports on doctors’ overall empathy, but it did have positive effects on specific areas of doctors’ empathy covered by the questionnaire.

These results show that patients’ experience of doctors’ empathy not only is important during face-to-face encounters but also supports patients’ perceptions of health when the interaction is text based. The results also encourage further development of means to support patients’ experiences of empathy during online interaction with medical doctors.

Article

Perceptions of Doctors’ Empathy and Patients’ Subjective Health Status at an Online Clinic: Development of an Empathic Anamnesis Questionnaire
Martikainen, Silja PhD; Falcon, Mari MA; Wikström, Valtteri MA; Peltola, Soili PhD; Saarikivi, Katri MA
Psychosomatic Medicine: May 2022 – Volume 84 – Issue 4 – p 513-521.

Link to the article: Perceptions of Doctors’ Empathy and Patients’ Subjective Health Status at an Online Clinic: Development of an Empathic Anamnesis Questionnaire​​​​

Anni Iso-Mustajärvi, Director of BeeHealthy’s SaaS business, and seven other Finnish changemakers under the age of 35 is participating in the World Economic Forum’s event in Davos together with the Finnish Flow delegation.

“It’s wonderful that decision-makers from all over the world come together to consider how humanity can continue to move forward together in a sustainable way. At the same time, it’s also being considered how, for example, the challenges of healthcare can be solved together. We are able to take initiatives and share ideas at this unique forum”  Anni Iso-Mustajärvi describes her feelings from Davos. 

Several countries are currently looking for solutions to resource needs due to an aging population and rising health care costs. BeeHealthy is ready to meet these needs. 

“At BeeHealthy, we believe that by changing existing big structures and the way we do things, we will make a bigger impact and change in people’s lives. We have a ready-made solution for the digital leap in healthcare that has already been extensively tested in international use” she says. 

“The healthcare market is going through a breakthrough in digitalisation.”

According to Iso-Mustajärvi, conversation is needed so that new and better ways of providing health services can be achieved. Among other things, there is a need to discuss how health care can be delivered more efficiently, effectively and locally and over time. 

“The healthcare market is going through a breakthrough in digitalisation. The change is expected, as the industry has been one of the slowest in the digital development. Regulation and funding models must support innovative solutions. If, for example, compensation mechanisms are resolved for physical receptions and minutes, there will be a system drain failure. In addition to these issues, common solutions are needed to change the issues” Iso-Mustajärvi reflects. 

Change is not easy. The deployment of digital solutions requires the creation of new business models and practices. 

“For this, we at BeeHealthy have a unique experience and ability. Long-term work and helping big gamblers do things better will make an impact and bring even better care to a truly large number of people”

“What sets us apart from other players is that we are not just a software company, but our digital development is done internally with our own healthcare professionals’ resources and capabilities, which we can now commercialise elsewhere. We have a unique position to promote digital development outside Finland by offering ready-made and tested solutions to other healthcare players. We also carry out continuous development work together with our customers” Iso-Mustajärvi cheers.  

Patients at the heart of all development work.

Iso-Mustajärvi is especially proud of the development of digital health services in Mehiläinen. 

“We really want to make the patient’s life easier and enable smooth health care. All health data and access to a professional is in your pocket 24/7. At the same time, we have developed a medical framework that enables quality care. We’ve been pioneers in how medicine can meet new challenges with digital tools” she says. 
 
“In the spirit of the World Economic Forum, I could sum up our goals so that we want to build more equitable and democratic healthcare with scalable platform solutions as a partner for both public and private service providers” Iso-Mustajärvi concludes.

 
The World Economic Forum is held from 22 to 26,2022 and will bring together more than 2,000 leaders and experts from around the world. 

A significant proportion of Finns suffer from chronic diseases. There are up to 400,000 people suffering from type 2 diabetes alone, and it is estimated that about 10–15% of the public healthcare budget is spent on the treatment of diabetes. Many chronic diseases can be influenced by lifestyle changes, but support for the changes is poorly available: less than half of the patients suffering from chronic diseases feel adequately supported and only about 5% of them are able to make a substantial lifestyle change.

– Our goal is to make a radical leap in the effectiveness of treatment by providing better treatment for patients with chronic diseases. The preliminary results are promising: the median weight loss of the pilot in progress in Harjun terveys after four months is 5.2 kg (5.1%). Our treatment model has brought about a clear change, says Nelli Såger, Director of BeeHealthy's Chronic Care.

– Extensive international research shows that with adequate weight loss and sustainable lifestyle changes, type 2 diabetes can be put into remission, in other words, the diabetic becomes asymptomatic and drug-free, says Såger.

In BeeHealthy's new treatment model, both the professional and the patient play an active role. Through the app, the results of measurements taken at home are sent to a professional, who can intervene in the situation if, for example, the weight, blood sugar or blood pressure is high.

– The main objective is to support healthier lifestyles, i.e. to encourage people to exercise more and eat healthier, thereby reducing the need for medical treatment and improving the prognosis for diabetes. This is promoted by remote monitoring and support as well as personalised routine challenges which aim at building a sustainable lifestyle change,” says Såger.

The current situation is expensive both in human and social terms – and also for employers

In addition to society and the human aspect, the current situation regarding the treatment of chronic diseases is also costly for employers, as people with diabetes have up to 10 more days of sickness-related absences than others. This means an additional annual cost of EUR 3,500 per person suffering from diabetes for the employer.

– There is much to improve in the effectiveness of chronic disease treatment: the patient is left quite alone, the desired lifestyle changes rarely happen and poor treatment balance often leads to costly complications. Our new operating model can achieve significant savings and improve the continuity of treatment in everyday life through digital services, says Sampo Oksanen, Commercial Lead of Chronic Care.

The early treatment results are promising, but more information on the long-term effectiveness on lifestyles, let alone complications, is required.

– The effectiveness of our concept will be weighed only in a longer follow-up, with a larger number of patients. That is why we are adding hundreds of new patients to our pilot in the new Päijät-Häme wellbeing services county this year. The University of Helsinki and Aalto University are conducting a scientific study on the benefits of the pilot. The pilot and the development of the new treatment model will continue, says Iiro Karhiaho, Chief Physician of BeeHealthy's Chronic Care.

In the joint venture between Mehiläinen and Päijät-Häme Joint Authority for Health and Wellbeing, Harjun terveys, the pilot for the treatment of people with type 2 diabetes started in December 2021 and more than 30 patients have participated in it. In the future, the new treatment model will work through BeeHealthy's SuomiSote remote service platform.  The operating model developed for the treatment of chronic diseases will later also be offered to employers.

The MVZ Westpfalz Group is a leading provider of conservative and surgical treatments in the Region of Kaiserslautern / Landstuhl, focusing on specialties of ENT, orthopaedics, visceral surgery and radiology. The MVZ Westpfalz Group holds the following legal entities: MVZ Westpfalz GmbH, Radiologie Westpfalz GmbH, MVZ International Rehab Westpfalz GmbH and the Mediceum Klinik Landstuhl GmbH.

The group is renowned for its seamless integration of outpatient and inpatient patient flows and is a leading example in Germany for its efficient and high-quality patient care across specialties. The MVZ Westpfalz Group has been identified as an ideal partner for Mehiläinen Germany to develop an innovative and integrated care approach for the outpatient specialty medicine market in Germany.

– We are extremely grateful to have found a strategic partner with strong digital capabilities and experience. Mehiläinen shares our vision of high-quality and efficient medical care for our customers. Being a part of Mehiläinen will allow us to elevate our medical care services to the next higher level, at the same time as we will together establish a network of high-quality, customer-oriented medical care in Germany. We are committed and convinced that with our knowledge and experience in the German medical care market we will accomplish this mission, says Dr med. Antonio Baker Schreyer, Managing Director of MVZ Westpfalz.

– With its 40 doctors and coverage of the whole patient journey, MVZ Westpfalz is a leading regional healthcare provider in Kaiserlautern and Landstuhl with very high patient satisfaction. We will support MVZ Westpfalz Group in further improving access, quality and patient experience, especially by leveraging the digital capabilities of the Mehiläinen Group, Dr med. Gerald Loos, Managing Director Mehiläinen Germany and the Dalberg Klinik GmbH comments.

– We were highly impressed by Dr. Baker Schreyer and his colleagues. We share the same customer-centric and quality-oriented values and entrepreneurial spirit. Dr. Baker Schreyer will join the management team of Mehiläinen Germany and together our goal is to continue investments and acquisitions of medical centres in other regions within Germany, says Janne-Olli Järvenpää, CEO of Mehiläinen Group.

The transaction had been subject to antitrust approval by German federal authorities. Approval was granted on April 8, 2022.

The Dalberg Klinik GmbH is part of Mehiläinen Deutschland GmbH and the Finnish healthcare provider Mehiläinen. The Mehiläinen Group is a European leader in high-quality digitally powered multi-specialty healthcare with a strong outpatient focus. Mehiläinen employs over 30 000 healthcare professionals in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Germany. Group turnover in 2021 was EUR 1.4 billion. Mehiläinen was founded in 1909 in Helsinki, Finland.