Health services in Finland - yhteiskuntaorientaatio.fi
Public healthcare services are offered at health stations
Public healthcare services are meant for people who reside in Finland permanently. Some public healthcare services are free of charge and some have a client fee. The services are low cost, because they are funded through government tax money. The bill for the service is sent to the patient afterwards.
Public healthcare services are organised by the local wellbeing services county. There are 21 wellbeing services counties in Finland, based on the Finnish regions. Healthcare and social welfare services in Helsinki are organised by the city.
Healthcare and social services at health and wellbeing centres include:
- Doctor’s or nurse’s appointments
- Dental care
- Maternity and child health clinics (neuvola)
- Mental health and substance abuse services
- Social work and social counselling services
- Rehabilitation services and services for people with disabilities
- Laboratory tests.
Some public healthcare services for school-aged children are organised at school and others at health stations. School health care for children and youths include dental care, regular health checks and doctor’s checkups, as well as health care guidance.
More information about health services: Health services in Finland (infofinland.fi)
More information about health care for children: Children’s health (infofinland.fi)
A person living permanently in Finland can use public health and social services
A permanent resident in Finland has a municipality of residence in Finland and they are allowed to use public health services. A municipality of residence is the municipality where the person’s permanent address is registered. Legally, the role of the wellbeing services county is to offer their residents public healthcare services.
More information about who is entitled to use healthcare services in Finland: Health services in Finland (infofinland.fi)
A person who has come to Finland to study usually uses private health services
If a person comes to Finland from another country to study, usually they are considered to be in the country only temporarily. This means they are not entitled to public healthcare services and they need private health insurance for their residence permit. If they fall ill, they can make an appointment with a private doctor.
If a foreign student completes their whole degree in Finland, in some cases they are entitled to use student health services. The Finnish Student Health Service FSHS (Ylioppilaiden terveydenhoitosäätiö YTHS) is responsible for the health services for students at institutions of higher education. They have service units in different cities.
More information about a student’s right to health services in Finland: Health services in Finland (infofinland.fi)
More information about the right to medical care in Finland: Entitlement to medical care in Finland (kela.fi)
With a Kela card, you can receive reimbursements for medicine and doctor’s appointments
A person who has moved to Finland or who works in Finland can apply for a Kela card which is a health insurance card. By showing this card, you can receive a direct reimbursement from pharmacies and many private medical clinics for medical treatment or medicine. The Kela reimbursement is deducted directly from the cost of the medical treatment or the medicine and you pay only the remaining amount. If you do not have a Kela card, you can apply for reimbursements afterward.
More information about the Kela card: Kela card (kela.fi) Finnish, Swedish, English
Appointments to general practitioner or public health nurses are usually booked by calling
If you fall ill, you can contact your local health station or health and wellbeing centre. There you can make an appointment with a general practitioner or public health nurse. Health stations are usually open from Mondays to Fridays from 8 AM to 4 PM.
You should call the health station right away in the morning at 8 AM when they open. If the illness requires urgent care, you may be able to book an appointment quickly. If the case is not urgent, you may have to wait longer for a doctor’s appointment. You can also make an appointment by visiting the health station when it is open.
Many health stations have a callback service. This means that the calls are answered automatically with recorded instructions for the caller. The recording lists reasons for calling the health station. The caller chooses the suitable option from the recording and the system saves their phone number. The staff of the health station will call back later and then you can reserve an appointment with a doctor or nurse.
When a person calls a health station to book an appointment, they must explain why they are seeking care. The worker who makes the appointments evaluates which professional the patient needs to see.
Some ailments only require an appointment with a nurse
In Finland, nurses (sairaanhoitaja) and public health nurses (terveydenhoitaja) treat many illnesses and ailments and a doctor’s appointment is not necessarily required. Usually there are both nurses and public health nurses at health stations.
Nurses treat acute illnesses and ailments, whereas public health nurses do more preventative work. It is often quicker to get an appointment with a nurse than with a doctor. If a doctor is needed, the nurse will send the patient to see a doctor.
If the illness requires a specialist doctor, usually the patient first makes an appointment with a general practitioner. The general practitioner evaluates the situation and, if needed, they write a referral to a specialist. You cannot make an appointment with a specialist yourself.
Medicine can be bought from a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription
Many medicines in Finland require a prescription. The doctor writes the prescription at the appointment electronically, which saves it into the national prescription database. When the patient goes to the pharmacy, the pharmacist can view the prescription when the client shows their Kela card or other identity card. The patient can buy the medicine from any pharmacy in Finland. Painkillers and other medicines are not sold in grocery shops, only in pharmacies.
Doctors deliberate prescribing medicine
In Finland, doctors only prescribe medicine to patients when there is a genuine need. The doctor considers carefully whether to prescribe the patient, for example, antibiotics and painkillers or not. Many medicines have side-effects. Excessive use of antibiotics around the world may gradually lead to bacteria forming resistance against them and the effectiveness of the medicine will weaken. This means that in the future more people may die of diseases which can now be treated with antibiotics.
The Omaolo service advises about need for treatment
In most areas in Finland, the Omaolo online service is in use. It is a healthcare and social welfare service where you can evaluate how you are feeling, meaning you can answer questions about your own illness or symptoms. The service gives a recommendation for how you should seek treatment. You can also contact professionals in your own municipality’s healthcare and social welfare in the service. In some cases, it is possible to make an appointment through Omaolo.
Omaolo can be used in Finnish, Swedish and English. If you sign in to Omaolo, you can send the answers from the symptom evaluation and the information about the recommended treatment to a healthcare professional. When you call the health station, you may be asked to first complete a symptom evaluation in Omaolo.
More information about Omaolo: Omaolo (omaolo.fi) Finnish, Swedish, English
Emergency care helps with urgent issues
If you fall ill in the evening or during the weekend and require urgent care, you must call the emergency department (päivystys) and act according to their instructions. Emergency care is only provided when the illness requires immediate care and you cannot wait until the next weekday to treat it. Often a person can go to the emergency department on their own or order a taxi. An ambulance is required when someone’s life is under threat or you are no longer able to help.
You may have to wait a long time at the emergency department. Patients are not taken in in the order that they arrive, but according to the urgency of their need for care. A doctor decides the order.
The emergency department is usually at a hospital. In rural areas, the emergency department may be in the neighbouring city. There may be a separate paediatric and adolescent emergency department for children and youths. You can find information about your own wellbeing services county’s emergency departments and how to access care on the website of your own health station or wellbeing services county.
In an emergency, you must call the emergency number. Emergencies include accidents or sudden health crises. There is more information about calling the emergency number in section 3.
More information about what to do in an emergency in Practicalities of living.
You can make an appointment with a private clinic for any illness
There are private clinics all around Finland and you can find their contact information online. It is often quicker to receive an appointment with a private doctor than with public healthcare services. Private health services are much more expensive than public services. Some private doctors also do house calls, but this can cost a lot of money. If you have a Kela card, you can receive a small reimbursement from Kela for the private doctor fees. If you do not have a Kela card, you can apply for reimbursements afterward.
Employees can access health services through occupational health care
In Finland, employers organise occupational health care for all their employees. Occupational health care includes health checks and investigating occupational diseases and symptoms.
Occupational health care can be organised at a health and wellbeing centre or at a private clinic. Often occupational health care may also include medical treatment and appointments with doctors, occupational health psychologists or physiotherapists.
More information about occupational health: Occupational health and illness (infofinland.fi)
More information about occupational health in Occupational safety and health
The patient has the right to good care in a reasonable time
Public healthcare in Finland has a treatment time guarantee. According to the law, a person permanently living in Finland has the right to non-urgent care in a reasonable time. If you require urgent care, this is always arranged immediately.
When a person falls ill and they are treated at a health station or a hospital, they are a patient. Finnish law dictates the minimum rights of patients. The rights of patients include for example:
- The right to good care and good treatment which respects human dignity.
- The right to consent to the care. The consent of the patient must be ensured before stating the treatment.
- The right to refuse care.
- The right to check one’s own information from patient documents and the right to fix erroneous information.
Legally, all people have the right to equal public or private health services in Finland. The patient has the right to use an interpreter during appointments when necessary.
The Patient Ombudsperson helps in problem situations
If you are mistreated or treated unfairly in health services, you can contact the Patient Ombudsperson (potilasasiavastaava) The services of the Patient Ombudsperson are free of charge. They help and advise if you want to issue an objection about poor or faulty treatment or seek compensation for patient injury. If you are mistreated or treated unfairly in social welfare services, you can contact your own municipality’s Social Ombudsman.
Oral and dental health is an important part of a person’s health
If you have an infection in your mouth, the bacteria can spread from the mouth to the whole body and cause different symptoms or illnesses, for example, in the lungs or heart. Issues with occlusion, meaning how the teeth come together, can also cause different types of health issues.
Oral care in public healthcare
Finnish public oral healthcare includes two types of care: preventative and restorative. Preventative care means that the health of the mouth and the teeth is maintained with good self-care, meaning cleaning the mouth daily at home, and regular checks with an oral health professional.
In restorative care, the dentist fixes and treats existing damages and issues. It is always possible to receive pain relief for different procedures in Finland. For example, when receiving a dental filling, the patient first receives topical anaesthesia, which is applied to the surface of the oral tissue, and after this the patient receives an anaesthetic injection.
At a public health station, you can make an appointment with a dentist or a dental hygienist. Some wellbeing services counties may have separate dental clinics. A dental hygienist works with preventative oral and dental care and does dental checks. A dentist fills cavities and fixes occlusion as well as other dental issues. There are often queues for public dental care.
Dental Emergency Department serves patients in need of urgent dental care. An urgent need is, for example, an intense toothache or a dental injury. When you call the Dental Emergency Department, a professional will assess the urgency of the need for dental care. If a dental surgeon is required for dental care, first you must reserve a time with a general dentist. They write a referral to specialist dental care depending on the need.
More information about dental care: Dental care (infofinland.fi)
Oral healthcare for children
Oral care for children under the age of 18 is free of charge at a public health station or dental clinic. Regular oral health checks are organised for children at early childhood education and comprehensive school age. The aim of the care for children and youths is to ensure that the child has good oral and dental health right from the start.
If a child has malocclusion (purentavirhe) and they meet the criteria for care, they are directed to an orthodontist. Orthodontics for malocclusion is free of charge in health and social services centres for those under the age of 18.
Oral care at a private dentist
You can also receive oral care at a private dentist. Kela reimburses a part of private dentist fees if you have a Kela card. If you do not have a Kela card, you can apply for reimbursements afterward. Private dentists are usually able to provide care quickly.
Mental health services can be accessed through your own health station or a private clinic
In Finland, you can receive mental health services at a health station or private clinic for different types of issues with mental health. Mental health issues may include depression, anxiety, eating disorders and intense fears.
If you require mental health services, you should first reserve an appointment at your own health station with a public health nurse or doctor. The doctor assesses which type of help is required. They can write a referral to the psychiatric outpatient clinic or other mental health services. The care usually includes conversations with a psychologist or psychotherapist as well as medication.
You can also book an appointment at a private clinic. Private clinics also have psychiatrists and psychologists. A private doctor costs a lot more than public healthcare at a health station.
If you need urgent care, you can call the on-call health station (päivystävä terveysasema) or hospital. Urgent psychiatric care can be received in the emergency department of psychiatric hospitals.
If a child or youth has mental health issues, their parents can contact their own wellbeing services county’s family counselling clinic (perheneuvola). Schools and educational institutions also offer student welfare services with professionals who support the child with mental health matters. These professionals include school curators, psychologists, public health nurses and a doctor.
The video below discusses mental health services in Finland.
Video: THL Mental health for migration – Mental health services in Finland (youtube.com, in English) (Arabic, Dari, English, Ukrainian, Russian, Congo Swahili)
More information about mental health services in Finland:
- Mental health (infofinland.fi)
- MIELI Crisis helpline (mieli.fi)
- Rehabilitation of torture and war trauma survivors (hdl.fi)
Alcohol and drugs also cause issues in Finland
Finnish people have a rather permissive attitude toward alcohol. In recent years, alcohol use in Finland has reduced, but many still drink a lot of alcohol. Alcohol causes a lot of issues for Finnish people.
Recreational use of drugs is becoming more common in Finland, but it is still less frequent here than in many countries in Western Europe. People usually have a negative attitude toward drug use.
Many drug addicts are marginalised from society and they have other issues, such as social issues and health issues. Drug use is often linked with criminality, because drugs are expensive. Drug users need a lot of money and large sums of money can be difficult to come by legally.
Help for substance abuse issues can be received at health and social services stations
Psychoactive substances include alcohol and drugs. The most common drugs are cannabis, opioids, amphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and khat. All drugs are illegal in Finland. Possession of drugs and selling them is a crime punishable by fine or imprisonment.
If there are issues with substance addiction or other addiction, help and support can be received from one’s own health and social services station, student health care or occupational health care. Both substance addiction and, for example, gambling addiction can cause issues to both the user or gambler themselves and those close to them. These often also lead to financial issues.
A-Clinic also offers care and rehabilitation to people who are addicted to psychoactive substances. The family of the substance user can also receive help and support. The care at the A-Clinic is free of charge and they also offer drug detoxification. In detoxification, the use of the substances is stopped completely.
More information about substance dependence: Substance dependence (infofinland.fi)
More information about the services of A-Clinic: A-Clinic Ltd (a-klinikka.fi)
Health advice and support points offer social and health advice to drug users
Many cities have health advice and support points (terveysneuvontapiste) meant for people who use drugs. At these points, one can change old, used needles for new ones. The points also provide guidance and counselling for social and health matters.
Authorities offer free injecting equipment to substance users for health reasons. If the drug users use dirty needles, different diseases can spread through these. The service points also provide people access to detoxification to stop drug use. You can find the contact information for your own area’s health advice and support point online.