Enhancing Continuity of Care in Finland's Welfare Regions

The sixth meeting of the Personal Physician Program Steering Group took place on June 19, 2025, and focused on reviewing the work of the Kainuu and South Savo welfare regions to improve continuity of care. The groups have been actively sharing good practices and achieving positive results. In Kainuu, the aim is to improve continuity of care by assigning patients a personal doctor and nurse, while in South Savo, digital services and harmonized operating models are being developed to enhance continuity of care.

Key Takeaways:

The Personal Physician Program Steering Group has reviewed the models of nine welfare regions, each with unique approaches to improving continuity of care.
In Kainuu, primary health care aims to improve continuity of care by assigning patients a personal doctor and nurse, with the goal of automatically directing residents' contacts to their own nurse.
In South Savo, a multidisciplinary team model is used throughout the welfare area, including a doctor and responsible worker for long-term patients.
Continuity of care has also been developed in services for the elderly in South Savo, where the doctor acts as the patient's personal doctor.
A national development group for primary care models was established in the autumn of 2024, comprising developers of the welfare areas and other experts interested in developing continuity of care and primary care models.
The purpose of the national development group is to serve as a think tank for experts developing continuity of care and primary care models to network, discuss, and share ideas.

Statistics:

Nine welfare regions have had their continuity of care models reviewed by the Personal Physician Program Steering Group.
The Kainuu welfare region aims to assign patients a personal doctor and nurse to improve continuity of care.
In South Savo, a multidisciplinary team model is used to provide continuity of care throughout the welfare area.
Continuity of care has been developed in services for the elderly in South Savo.

Sources:

Meeting of the Personal Physician Program Steering Group, June 19, 2025.
National development group for primary care models, established in the autumn of 2024.