Finnish Minister Kaisa Juuso announces personal doctor model implementation amid staffing challenges in South Karelia

The Finnish Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Kaisa Juuso, announced on Tuesday that a personal doctor model will be implemented during the current government term. Sally Leskinen, director of the South Karelia Welfare Area, emphasized in a Wednesday interview that the number of doctors should not be regulated by law or decree. She pointed to staffing issues, particularly in elderly care, where inadequate numbers of nurses have led to many vacancies in residential units.

Leskinen noted that the shortage of personal doctors is evident, particularly without dismantling the current workplace health and Kela reimbursement systems, which she argues encourage doctors to work outside of public healthcare. The lack of doctors in South Karelia is so significant that even workplace health services are falling short, requiring an additional 70 doctors to support the personal doctor model in her area.

Healthcare professor Kristiina Patja from the University of Helsinki expressed that the current inequities are often ignored. She stressed the importance of ensuring the health of the working population, but noted that there is no overarching guidance for the healthcare system, advocating for a population goal and governance that aligns public and private health services.

Ville-Veikko Ahonen, head of a department at the Ministry of Finance, indicated openness to reevaluating the financing model and the role of workplace healthcare while supporting the initiative of personal doctors. Juuso clarified that doctors would not be forced into personal doctor roles but that a system would be developed that provides incentives for them to choose this path, though she did not specify what these incentives might entail. She expressed a desire to empower an expert group to propose supportive measures for advancing the personal doctor model.