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Sitra to continue funding the Terveyskirjasto health-care library during 2008

The Duodecim Terveyskirjasto.fi health-care library will remain available as a public resource during 2008. Through the support of Sitra, the database will be developed into a more personal source of reliable health-care information.

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The Duodecim Terveyskirjasto.fi health-care library will remain available as a public resource during 2008. Finland’s Slot-Machine Association and the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim are offering the contents of the library to all Finns until the end of 2008. Through the support of Sitra, the database will be developed into a more personal source of reliable health-care information.

The Terveyskirjasto.fi health-care library will be actively developed during 2008 with the support of Sitra.

In particular, more information on long-term illnesses will be produced for the library. Finns will also be given the opportunity to enter their own personal health information into the system. Based on the data entered, the system can provide more individual health-care advice, personal treatment recommendations, and risk analyses.

“Sitra wants to promote the delivery of information to customers in a reliable, timely, and understandable fashion. Last year, in conjunction with our 40th anniversary, we participated in the opening up of the Terveyskirjasto.fi library to the general public. Now it’s important to ensure that the contents and services will, in the near future, work as smoothly as possible with the electronic personal health history features being developed into the system. The personal profiling of customers is a definite step in the right direction,” says Hannu Hanhijärvi, Executive Director of Sitra’s Health Care Programme.

Based on feedback gathered last year, Terveyskirjasto.fi contents will be developed towards a more integrated whole. The primary focus is provision of reliable, independent, and easily understandable basic information on the most common issues related to health, symptoms, and illnesses. New features are also being continuously developed for the Internet-based library.

“The service is public and its purpose is to support basic health care. According to a user survey (*) conducted last summer, about a quarter of the respondents indicated that the information offered by the library had significantly reduced their need to contact their local health centre. I’m pleased that the information we have produced has found its audience and is having a significant effect on Finns’ behaviour when it comes to health care. Information is sought actively; almost three million articles are opened each month,” says Pekka Mustonen, Managing Director of Duodecim Medical Publications Ltd.

More information

Sitra Health Care Programme
Executive Director Hannu Hanhijärvi, tel. +358 9 6189 9440, firstname.lastname@sitra.fi

Health Care Programme communications
Elina Antila, Kuule Oy, tel. +358 40 548 3838, e-mail firstname.lastname@kuule.fi

Duodecim Medical Publications Ltd
Managing Director Pekka Mustonen, tel. +358 50 595 9730, e-mail firstname.lastname@duodecim.fi

Finnish Medical Society Duodecim
Communications Manager Annakaisa Tavast, tel. +358 9 6188 5218, firstname.lastname@duodecim.fi