What You Should Know:
– Finland regional leadership has selected Cerner to establish a new healthcare and social services digital platform to support four regions in Central Finland.
– The co-design digital platform will support Aster, a co-operational organization across four of Finland’s nineteen regions; including Central Finland, Ostrobothnia, South Savo, and North Karelia.
Today, Cerner announced it has been selected by Finland regional leadership to deliver more coordinated and efficient access to health and social services through a government-sponsored set of standards. As part of the collaboration, Cerner will work with Aster, a co-operational organization across four of Finland’s nineteen regions; including Central Finland, Ostrobothnia, South Savo, and North Karelia to develop a new healthcare and social services digital platform.
Healthcare and Social Services Digital Platform Project
The co-designed digital platform will support the delivery of an enhanced, streamlined approach to the provision of health and social services, providing citizens with access to integrated outpatient and inpatient care, behavioral health services, services for families with children, dental and more. The project will be executed in two phases: the first phase focused on development and planning over a one-year period. Subject to the parties’ agreement of a shared plan, Cerner plans to contract with Aster to deliver the second phase, in which the technology is delivered and implemented.
As part of this effort, approximately 15,000 clinicians and 10,000 social service workers will receive additional support to address the unique needs of an evolving integrated health and social welfare system. Aster seeks to increase transparency between social and health care organizations, give experts better visibility into population data in one system, and empower citizens to access their holistic and aggregated information.
Why It Matters
This announcement comes at a time when Finland is undergoing a transformation to shift responsibility for the organization of health and social services from municipal based health and social care to combined regional authorities. Aster recognizes that it is important to care for the whole person beyond the four walls of a hospital and that societal challenges like coordinated child services and access to behavioral health services matter.
“As these four districts come together to build a new model of health care and social services for our citizens, we needed a leading technology partner with local experience and presence that could integrate care across boundaries and populations. With Cerner’s expertise in health technology, along with the company’s experience in the international and Nordic markets, we are confident this decision will support our mission,” said Simo Reipas, director, Aster. “Our 25,000 clinical and social staff work very hard to take excellent care of our citizens. As we transform our care delivery model, it’s our duty to equip our staff with the advanced technology, like Cerner®, designed to support their ability to deliver care and social services and enable our citizens to participate in their own services.”
