BackgroundThe aim here was to explore trends in patient satisfaction with primary health care and its accessibility and continuity, and to explore whether through reforms and improvements some of the essential goals had been achieved over a 14-year period of time in Finland.MethodsNine questionnaire surveys were conducted over a period of 14 years among patients attending within one week in the 65 health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area. A total of 147,394 responded out of a sample of 333,648 patients. The response rate varied yearly from 53% to 37%.ResultsPatient satisfaction with care in Finnish health centres decreased by nearly 9 percentage units from 1998 to 2011. The fall-off was most marked in the age-group over 64 years. There was a 20 percentage unit’s reduction in ease of access as reported by patients. Respondents also reported that the continuity of care had deteriorated.ConclusionsDespite major reforms in Finnish health care policy, patients seem to be less satisfied. Our findings challenge both Finnish authorities and GPs to improve the accessibility and continuity of care in primary health services.

MEDigi is a nationwide Finnish project that aims to develop and implement digital teaching, learning and assessment solutions and to provide possibilities for national harmonization of undergraduate medical and dental education in Finland. The MEDigi project will investigate the options and feasibility of a common national digital online platform and produce digital content and solutions for medical education. Furthermore, tools and support system for digital pedagogy training will be created to ensure that the teaching staff will achieve and retain appropriate digipedagogical skills. The project aims also to increase the competence related to the digital tools used in clinical practice (eHealth, digital health) of physicians and dentists. Furthermore, academic research will be carried out on various aspects of the project. All the universities in Finland that offer the Licentiate Degree in Medicine and Dentist programmes are involved: Universities of Eastern Finland, Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere and Turku. The project is coordinated by the University of Oulu. The project is carried out in close collaboration with the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim and the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia. The project lifespan is until the end of May 2021. MEDigi project is financed by the Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education and its total budget is over 4 million euros.

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