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Digital experiments for the healthcare and social welfare sector – selection of pilot projects now complete

Government Communications Department
Publication date 1.11.2018 10.54 | Published in English on 2.11.2018 at 10.41
Press release 510/2018

The Experimental Finland project of the Prime Minister’s Office, together with Motiva Ltd, requested applications for pilot projects to strengthen the digital skills of personnel in the social welfare and healthcare sector from 13 September to 17 October 2018. Strengthening digital skills frees up more time for the essential – encountering patients. The call for applications, implemented using the ‘Place to Experiment’ platform, received 37 submissions, of which 17 were selected, some conditionally.

The selected pilot projects approach digital skills for the social welfare and healthcare sector in a variety of different ways. The objectives of the pilots include streamlining the induction of employees and the sharing of information in home care, along with improving patient safety when monitoring medical treatment.

A pilot from the University of Tampere will test out wearable robotics. In practice, nurses will be fitted with robotic vests to help with tasks such as lifting patients. This reduces the physical load of nursing work. The pilot project is part of the Robots and the Future of Welfare Services research project funded by the Strategic Research Council.

A pilot from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences will apply gamification to the instructions given to patients in preparation for diagnostic tests, for example. The pilot will explore how a game can be used to dispel fear and uncertainty related to medical procedures.

The jury of social welfare and healthcare experts was faced with an interesting task. “Everyday experience in the field gave us a comprehensive view of the applicants, and ultimately the decisions were unanimous,” says Senior Specialist Johanna Kotipelto from the Prime Minister’s Office. “There were also some proposals that were excellent in terms of their content but were not a good enough fit for the theme of this application round. We will try to find other ways to implement them,” explains Senior Expert Lea Gynther from Motiva Ltd.

The invitation was for small-scale pilots that could be implemented with a sum of EUR 10,000 or less. The call for applications was open to anyone, and applications were submitted by several universities for applied sciences, educational institutions, companies, associations, municipalities and joint municipal authorities. The invitation sought pilots dealing with the themes of common practices, flexible learning and patient encounters and employee skills in digital solutions.

A kick-off event will be held for the selected pilots on 7 November 2018. The goal is to implement the pilots by the end of February 2019.

All of the selected pilots

Inquiries: Johanna Kotipelto, Senior Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 295 160 206, johanna.kotipelto(a)vnk.fi, Lea Gynther, Senior Expert, Motiva Ltd, p. +358 9 6122 5044, lea.gynther(a)motiva.fi