The spread of the use of electronic services requires the know-how of customers and the renewal of care processes

Abstract

The use of electronic services has increased in social and health care services during COVID-19 pandemic but overall usage is still low. According to research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic by Vehko et al. the use of electronic services in health care among the working-age population was 32% and among retired age population 10%. The use of electronic service was more common in urban areas compared to sparsely populated rural areas. Respondents who had used social and health care services electronically mostly stated that the electronic service use replaced the faceto-face visit. For many the use of electronic services has become everyday life. Some of the social and healthcare services can be organized electronically, and at best, electronic transactions bring the services close to users, even in sparsely populated areas. Limiting electronic services to those situations for which they are suitable is important. Challenges include how to keep the instruments accessible to everyone, how to improve skills and how to support the use of electronic services