Service voucher under preparation for dental care
The Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County Regional Board has adopted a decision on the value of the service voucher and co-payments. As a result, the preparation of the service voucher model for oral health care will continue. The aim of the service voucher is to improve access to treatment for adult clients in situations where they need several treatment visits and the treatment as a whole can be implemented by a private service provider. A customer is only issued a service voucher after an assessment of the need for treatment by a professional. The aim is to make the service voucher available in early summer.
Transformation Director Heikki Tonteri emphasises that the service voucher will be a significant addition to oral health care services for the adult population:
“As part of the development of the service voucher model, we have wanted to find a solution for situations where the customer has a clear need for a treatment package covering several visits. In other words, this service voucher model is not a treatment path suitable for everyone, and its suitability for the customer is assessed individually.
To whom can a service voucher be given?
A service voucher for comprehensive oral health care can be offered to an adult customer who has the need for care suitable for the service voucher and a previous treatment history in dental care in the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County. The need for treatment is always assessed at the wellbeing services county’s customer service centre for oral health care. The assessment ensures that the service voucher is suitable for the customer’s overall situation and that the treatment can be carried out by a private service provider.
“Treatment carried out with a service voucher is more expensive for the customer than similar treatment at the wellbeing service’s county’s own dental clinic. The purpose of the voucher is to speed up access to treatment,” Tonteri explains.
The service voucher covers dental examination of the mouth and teeth, X-rays with opinions, a treatment plan, and the implementation of planned treatment. The service voucher is not suitable for specialised dental care and does not cover such things as prosthetics related treatment involving orthodontic treatment, bite guards, or dental laboratory stages.
Residents involved in preparation
Service Unit Manager Sanna Mekkonen says that residents’ views have played an important role in the preparation:
“Residents have been involved in the model's preparation, and this is reflected in its practical solutions. Many asked for clear instructions, flexibility, and the possibility of selecting a service provider. We want to ensure that the use of a service voucher is easy when it is considered the correct treatment path.”
The service voucher model being developed was mainly seen as clear and necessary, but many asked for more detailed information on costs, the scope of the service, and to whom the service voucher could be granted. Instructions are currently being prepared in accordance with these requests.
What’s up next?
Next, we will continue to collaborate with service providers in the launch of service voucher activities. We will provide information to service providers of the progress of the preparation.
The aim is to launch service voucher activities in early summer and to expand use in early autumn. During the spring, we will provide more information on timelines and instructions on the luvn.fi website.
Enquiries
Heikki Tonteri
Transformation Director, Oral Health Services
tel. +358 406443117, heikki.tonteri@luvn.fi