in content lists or on the content page.Growth and productivity in the health and social care sector
We are creating the conditions for increasing productivity of health and social care services and economic growth in the sector through digitalisation, health data, and artificial intelligence. We are working together with stakeholders in the sector, and ultimately aim to enhance people’s well-being.
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What is it about?
Costs on health and social care need to be reduced. At the same time the demand for services is increasing due to an ageing population, and the healthcare staff is burdened by a heavy workload. This difficult equation requires new solutions.
New technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and the use of health data offer opportunities for renewing the ways of operating in the health and social care sector. They can be a significant aid in solving the problems of health and social care services. The well-being services counties in Finland have a central role in seizing these new opportunities. Involving companies brings the latest technological expertise to the use of the well-being counties. This kind of co-development simultaneously accelerates the growth of companies and the economy.
In Finland, the digitalisation of health and social care services has been strongly promoted in recent years, and our healthcare system has already been largely digitalised. This provides a solid foundation for the renewal of services and service structures.
The use of health data plays a central role in improving the quality of health and social care services and renewing the service structures. Finland has long been an international pioneer in using health data beneficially. Sitra has actively advanced the use of health data at the EU level by coordinating the EU’s joint actions (TEHDAS and TEHDAS 2).
Artificial intelligence can be used in almost all health and social care service operations. This requires digitalised systems and services, as well as health data. Finland is already advanced in these areas, making artificial intelligence a significant opportunity for us.
Our aim is to assist the well-being services counties in the reform of health and social care services through health data and new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. Our tools include funding for experiments, various development projects, and the production of new knowledge. Our goal is also to provide growth opportunities for Finnish companies through the reform of health and social care services. We will implement this, among others, in the experiments we fund, where services are developed together with companies.
The project will build on the lessons learned in our Well-being solutions project and our previous work with the use of health data (Health data 2030, Well-being from information). The work will also rely on the Isaacus project and the IHAN project, which developed tools and operating models for a fair data economy.
What do we do?
In the project, we will create conditions for the development of health and social care services together with our partners.
Our work began in 2024: three well-being services counties piloted the use of artificial intelligence in recording patient information and in the preventive care of the elderly, with our partial funding.
In early 2025, we are preparing a funding call aimed at the well-being services counties to promote a proactive approach in health and social services. Through proactive methods, individualised and targeted solutions will be produced to help people stay healthy and feel better. Predictive data-based methods will be used to identify and anticipate social problems and diseases before they occur.
We are also supporting the acceleration of growth in the sector through various development projects as part of the health and well-being sector RDI growth programme led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Projects
Who is involved?
Our work involves the entire ecosystem of the health and social care sector, meaning networks of cooperation that include sector authorities such as the well-being services counties as service providers, research communities, and companies.
