Advancing Health and Social Care in Finland with Epic

Healthcare providers in Finland’s southern region used to track patients’ health care and social services with hundreds of different computer systems, creating a patchwork of disconnected information that was hard to manage. Last year, the region joined in a collaborative project called Apotti to move to Epic: a single, comprehensive, integrated system. Since its launch, Apotti has helped connect more than 117,000 Finns to their providers through MyChart, provide over 30,000 citizens with financial assistance, and facilitate more than 15,000 applications for social services.

Each citizen’s record in Apotti shows both clinical and social care data, giving clinicians a holistic view. A comprehensive record for each person helps clinicians and social care specialists collaborate when a patient needs social care services, like counseling or home care.

For example, if a clinician determines that a patient needs help meeting basic needs that significantly affect health, like affording rent, groceries, or transportation, the clinician can use Epic to refer the patient to financial assistance. In the year since going live with Epic, Apotti has facilitated more than 30,000 payments to citizens in need, totaling €6.9 million ($8.1 million USD).

Patients can reach out to a clinician or social worker directly through MyChart if they have health questions or need financial assistance. In the last year, citizens sent more than 15,000 applications for social services through MyChart.

“We provide holistic care to our patients, and the integrated record for each patient in Epic reflects that while keeping each patient’s information private,” said Hannu Välimäki, managing director for the Apotti project. “Citizens, social workers, and clinicians can all collaborate so each patient receives the best care possible.”

The Apotti project will integrate social and health care for more than 30% of Finland’s population by the end of 2021.

Epic community members can learn more about using Epic to support social care programs on the UserWeb.