Opinion|Reader’s opinion
In order to achieve the desired benefits of the reform, significant investment is needed.
Social-and Healthcare reformation is a major structural reform aimed at, among other things, equal and high-quality social and health services for all Finns and curbing the growth of social security costs. The latter objective in particular has the built-in assumption that post-reform action would be more effective than before.
Such a major reform is, in a word, an investment project. An investment is a significant investment that is expected to pay for itself over several years. In other words, in order to achieve the desired benefits of the reform, significant financial investment is needed. On the other hand, if sufficient investment is not made, the desired benefits will not be achieved. In the worst case scenario, the investment could fail so completely due to underfunding that the reform would in fact weaken the areas it was intended to improve.
Against this background, funding for social reform, especially for state support for ICT change, seems very worrying. Simplified, the ICT change means that many different organizations with different information systems should be made to work together in a way that, for example, the salaries of future welfare workers are paid, patient data is recorded in the systems and all activities are based on up-to-date information.
Many welfare areas, which will start in 2023, have received less than half of the funding they need from the state for this transformation work, which is vital for the success of the SOTE reform. For example, the largest welfare area in Finland, Pirkanmaa, lacks the necessary ICT change funding of more than ten million euros.
The old saying goes that if you want quality, fast and cheap, you only have to choose two out of three. From the point of view of the Sote reform, the demand for speed is already locked. If ICT change funding remains at its current level, the requirement of “cheapness” will also be locked.
This leaves poor quality, which means that many of the goals of the SOTE reform will fail.
Unfortunately, too little investment in ICT change in connection with the start-up of the regions will also lead to an increase in other costs, thus failing to achieve the goal of curbing the growth of social costs. If the SOTE reform is to succeed, it is time to take the right approach: an investment project.
Emil Ackerman
information architect, Pirkanmaa Hospital District
Development Manager, Pirkanmaa Welfare Area
Reader opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and delivered by HS’s editorial staff. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.
#Reader #opinion #Sote #reform #investment #project