Healthcare crisis | The health center in Espoo will start working on the American model in the fall

in Espoo in the fall we will start testing a model where the doctor working at the health center is a self-employed professional.

So he accepts patients, answers at the health center and is responsible for a certain population, but is not on the payroll of a welfare district or a private health giant.

This kind of entrepreneur-led approach is an unusual way to organize a patient’s own doctor in Finland today, but there are many similar practices in other parts of Europe and North America.

The welfare area of ​​Länsi-Uusimaa is experimenting with the practitioner model in the fall with two doctors at the Kalajärvi health center in Espoo.

Patients often wish for a familiar doctor. There is also scientific evidence that such continuity of care means better care. Medical errors and even unnecessary deaths are reduced.

It is easier to talk to a familiar doctor about sensitive issues. He is able to more quickly prescribe the right tests at the right time and make a diagnosis more quickly.

So we want to increase continuity.

Internship is also a hook to attract doctors. Experienced doctors are thought to want a job where they can decide quite independently when and how to treat their patients.

In other countries, the model also saves money. Even if you see a familiar doctor more often, the need for expensive specialized medical treatment and emergency room visits may decrease.

To become a professional looking for general medicine specialists or experienced general practitioners. The search began on Wednesday.

We are looking for two nurses to work with the doctors. The nurses are working normally at the health center, but they are self-care workers for the patients of the general practitioner.

A doctor is responsible for a certain group of people. Responsibility means regular receptions and the fact that he, for example, assesses whether someone needs more demanding help from special medical care. In emergency situations and, for example, during the practitioner’s vacation, his patients can be treated by others.

The work is done in the premises of the health center and in the same information system as the colleagues who are employed.

At least during the pilot phase, the practitioner does not have the same other obligations as other doctors. So, for example, no on-call shifts or work in a counseling center or school health.

An estimated 42 percent of the doctor’s fee is based on capitation compensation, i.e. a calculation of the size of the responsible population and the estimated need for health services. An equally large share is based on performance, i.e. the number of receptions, for example.

The remaining sixteen percent is paid by the region based on quality. The capitation compensation is gradually increased if the same doctor works with the same group of people for a long time.

In Kalajärvi practitioners should start in August or September. At first, the functioning of the model will be tested in the everyday life of the health center and the costs will be calculated in more detail.

The pilot will expand quickly so that there will be eight practicing doctors in the entire welfare area at the beginning of next year. It is not yet known in which health centers they are being placed.

Almost half a million people live in Western Uusimaa. Even eight new types of doctors are just a drop in the ocean.

However, the welfare area estimates that in the future a significant part of those specializing in general medicine could be practitioners.