While in Finland, specifically Savonlinna, I had the opportunity to follow a few nurses, a doctor, and a paramedic as well as discuss with them their professions and the Finnish healthcare system. It was a fascinating experience for many reasons. The Finnish healthcare systems is a socialist system based on the Beveridge model. Therefore, medical professions are regulated in many ways by the government. Since we are going through reform here in the United States I thought it would be intriguing to learn about a social healthcare system, especially in light of Obamacare which definitely leans towards socialism. I found that I liked many aspects of socialist healthcare but I don’t think that Americans would accept it generally.
As a side note I want to mention that education in Finland is free. Students take aptitude tests to see where they will succeed and to find out what their interests are so they can be directed to programs that will best suit them. Explaining that education is free is important because salaries are regulated somewhat by the government. Think if in America only salaries were regulated and medical education continued to be as exorbitantly expensive as it is – none would want to be a doctor!
So we know that the system is socialist and education is free. Continuing on to how the system works. The country is divided into districts, each of which takes care of the residents in their respective areas. Every year the districts submit a bid to the government detailing how much they will spend on healthcare. In this bid the district best estimates the amount that will be spent to pay the healthcare workers, to provide needed medical supplies and facilities and for all other healthcare expenses. The government then provides the funds to the districts to use. That is how healthcare is funded.
The population in Finland focuses a great deal on health promotion and disease prevention. This greatly decreases the total cost of healthcare because people are not going to the doctor as frequently for acute or chronic illness. Public health nurses also are much more important and involved. They follow a woman through pregnancy, a baby throughout his or her childhood, workers during their careers and the elderly till they die. Basically there is a nurse available to you at any and all points of life. Nurses are dependable, knowledgeable and efficient thus decreasing the cost of healthcare. Not all Finns eat healthily or exercise frequently but it is much more common than America. Food is simpler and more hardy. Public transportation is well organized and most people use it instead of buying their own car. Interaction with nature is a large part of Finnish culture which means people are outside a lot more. There are, however, some large scale problems. Most people drink and it is common for people to smoke. These two risk factors lead to a lot of kidney, liver and cancer problems. HIV also creates a large strain on the healthcare system although it is not terribly common.
So there is my quick description of the healthcare system in Finland. I liked that no matter where you were in life you were being followed by a competent healthcare worker, mostly nurses. I also like the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and on good nutrition. When we were talking to a couple of public health nurses about prenatal care we asked if they often prescribed or suggested mothers take folic acid or multivitamins. They looked at us like we were crazy and said, “No, we just eat healthy food.” I believe that if in the US we focused more on prevention and healthy living instead of overtreating and overmedicating our healthcare system would not have the massive and complex problems we are facing now. So go for a walk, eat more vegetables and get a colonoscopy!
As a side note I want to mention that education in Finland is free. Students take aptitude tests to see where they will succeed and to find out what their interests are so they can be directed to programs that will best suit them. Explaining that education is free is important because salaries are regulated somewhat by the government. Think if in America only salaries were regulated and medical education continued to be as exorbitantly expensive as it is – none would want to be a doctor!
So we know that the system is socialist and education is free. Continuing on to how the system works. The country is divided into districts, each of which takes care of the residents in their respective areas. Every year the districts submit a bid to the government detailing how much they will spend on healthcare. In this bid the district best estimates the amount that will be spent to pay the healthcare workers, to provide needed medical supplies and facilities and for all other healthcare expenses. The government then provides the funds to the districts to use. That is how healthcare is funded.
The population in Finland focuses a great deal on health promotion and disease prevention. This greatly decreases the total cost of healthcare because people are not going to the doctor as frequently for acute or chronic illness. Public health nurses also are much more important and involved. They follow a woman through pregnancy, a baby throughout his or her childhood, workers during their careers and the elderly till they die. Basically there is a nurse available to you at any and all points of life. Nurses are dependable, knowledgeable and efficient thus decreasing the cost of healthcare. Not all Finns eat healthily or exercise frequently but it is much more common than America. Food is simpler and more hardy. Public transportation is well organized and most people use it instead of buying their own car. Interaction with nature is a large part of Finnish culture which means people are outside a lot more. There are, however, some large scale problems. Most people drink and it is common for people to smoke. These two risk factors lead to a lot of kidney, liver and cancer problems. HIV also creates a large strain on the healthcare system although it is not terribly common.
So there is my quick description of the healthcare system in Finland. I liked that no matter where you were in life you were being followed by a competent healthcare worker, mostly nurses. I also like the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and on good nutrition. When we were talking to a couple of public health nurses about prenatal care we asked if they often prescribed or suggested mothers take folic acid or multivitamins. They looked at us like we were crazy and said, “No, we just eat healthy food.” I believe that if in the US we focused more on prevention and healthy living instead of overtreating and overmedicating our healthcare system would not have the massive and complex problems we are facing now. So go for a walk, eat more vegetables and get a colonoscopy!
