CleverHealth Network organized an intensive Afterwork event on April 14 for its members, aimed at bringing together the perspectives of various experts and fostering a shared understanding around the day’s theme: How to ensure seamless and integrated care and service pathways. The workshop’s goal was to identify concrete bottlenecks and challenges that can be addressed in future development initiatives and projects.
The event was hosted by Microsoft and took place in their headquarters at Keilaniemi, Espoo. The interactive event brought together 45 specialists from CHN member companies, HUS and the well-being counties. Melisa Haahtinen, Director of Development and Strategy at HUS, opened the event, followed by Aleksi Kuitunen, Director of Healthcare Services at Microsoft, who delivered Microsoft’s greetings. He emphasized Microsoft’s commitment to digital development in Europe and Finland, including major data center projects and the significant role of artificial intelligence in all development work. The discussions were part of the broader development efforts of the CleverHealth Network ecosystem, which are supported by initiatives and projects funded by Business Finland.
The day’s theme was explored through four introductory presentations, each offering a different expert perspective:
Jarkko Loppukaarre, Customer Director at HUS, clarified industry terminology, which is sometimes unclear or used inconsistently. A care pathway refers solely to the patient’s journey within healthcare services, whereas a service pathway is a broader, individualized process based on the customer’s needs. A service chain description (or care chain description) is intended for social and healthcare professionals, detailing the phases, responsibilities, and division of labor within the service chain.
Johanna Pakarinen, Senior Specialist at HUS, addressed the digital transformation of patient pathways. She described how automation can manage patient flows and free up more than half of resources in suitable patient streams for more impactful specialized care and meaningful encounters. By utilizing artificial intelligence and automation together, operations can be significantly streamlined and made more efficient.
Tero Laiho, Development Manager at the City of Helsinki’s SoTePe unit, presented practical examples of electronic care pathways in the Helsinki area and related needs. Care pathways are designed to enhance patient participation in their own care, increase transparency regarding their treatment and replace or reduce the need for appointments. For example, the digital maternity clinic care pathway, implemented jointly with HUS and the Vantaa-Kerava wellbeing area, consolidates all pregnancy-related care and monitoring into a single package from the customer’s perspective, regardless of which organization provides the care.
Kimmo Sainio of PeiliVision discussed the ADHD care pathway as a case example. PeiliVision’s gamified ADHD test (EFSim) supports diagnosis and helps guide the child to the appropriate next steps at an early stage. The test can enhance school support measures, accelerate ADHD diagnosis, or identify the need for broader assessments.
Mikko Lehti (HUS) was responsible for facilitating the event as a whole and leading the small group sessions; under his guidance, the discussion was explored in greater depth through a workshop format, focusing on four themes:
- Issues in transitions between Primary and Specialized healthcare (Kalle Reivilä, InterSystems & Markku Heino, Spinverse)
- School healthcare (Kimmo Sainio, PeiliVision & Anja Kajanne, HUS)
- Artificial Intelligence and Low-Code Solutions (Olli Rysä, Microsoft & Tiina Puurtinen, HUS)
- Data utilization (Mikko Tiihonen, Forsante & Riikka Paasikivi, Spinverse)
The discussions included several different aspects e.g. customer/patient viewpoint, roles & responsibilities of healthcare providers, operational models, availability & quality of data, data integration technologies. Outputs from the group discussions were compiled (using artificial intelligence) and conclusions were reviewed together. Several concrete development topics were identified for further work, and discussions continued in an informal networking session.
The Afterwork event provided a professional environment for sharing experiences, identifying key issues related to care pathways, and finding new solutions to healthcare challenges. Thank you to all active participants for the intensive discussions.
