Six new personal doctors start in the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County
Six experienced personal doctors start work at health stations in the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County in Espoo. They assume responsibility for reception services for approximately 10,000 residents. The personal doctors are responsible for the medical care of the population assigned to them, and each personal doctor works with a personal nurse.
Personal doctors are not in an employment relationship with the wellbeing services county, but provide doctor’s services to their responsible populations in accordance with an agreement concluded with the wellbeing services county. A personal doctor undertakes to ensure good care and access to care for residents belonging to their allocated population.
The personal doctor model is based on a successful pilot project
An agreement with an entrepreneur is a new way of organising a personal doctor for a designated population. An entrepreneur-led personal doctor model has been piloted in Kalajärvi in Espoo at the end of 2024. The results of the pilot were convincing and encouraged expansion.
‘The pilot project showed that a self-employed doctor and a personal nurse can act independently and autonomously, as we had expected’, says Emil Heinäaho, Medical Director in charge of the project. ‘We were also able to correct challenges related to data transfer, for example, which we had not been able to taken into account in the planning stage. Now the model is a little more ready for new personal doctors.’
In the more extensive competitive tendering process, we sought a personal doctor for six population areas in different parts of Espoo. The populations were applied for by 12 doctors, six of whom were selected. All selected doctors are experienced general practitioners and have at least three years of experience as general practitioners.
‘It is wonderful and rare that we get so much experience and competence in our wellbeing services county in one go’, says Markus Paananen, Director of Joint Social and Health Services. Three doctors start their work before the summer and the remaining three after the holiday season.
A personal doctor ensures the continuity of treatment
When a patient in the personal doctor’s population needs health services, they usually meet familiar professionals. A pair that consists of a self-employed personal doctor and a personal nurse can plan their work flexibly, and they have access to the same tools, examinations and services as all health stations in the wellbeing services county. The personal nurses started working for the wellbeing services county in spring 2025.
The entrepreneur-led personal doctor model will be further expanded in Western Uusimaa. The aim is to launch the procurement of the next personal doctors before the summer holidays. At that time, populations will be available both in Espoo and elsewhere in the wellbeing services county. In addition to the model based on the agreement, the wellbeing services county is developing a personal doctor model based on employment relationship.
‘The continuity of treatment is very important. The longer the patient-doctor relationships, the less often the patient ends up in hospital care. There is also evidence of a reduction in mortality. For this reason, it is worth investing in personal doctor models. Our goal is to give the patient quick access to a familiar personal doctor whenever necessary. An entrepreneur-led personal doctor model is one way to improve the continuity of treatment in primary health care’, summarises Markus Paananen, Service Area Director.
Learn more about the self-employment model and procurement.(in Finnish)
