Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare > Volume 14, Number 5 > Pp. 266-270

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RESEARCH Original articles

The use of videoconferencing for mental health services in Finland

Arto Ohinmaa ^*  , Risto Roine , David Hailey ^* , Marja-Leena Kuusimäki  and Ilkka Winblad ^**

^* Institute of Health Economics, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, Helsinki, Finland; University Hospital of Oulu, Department of Psychiatry, Oulu, Finland; ^** University of Oulu, FinnTelemedicum and Department of Public Health Sciences and General Practice, Oulu, Finland

Correspondence: Arto Ohinmaa, University of Alberta, School of Public Health, 13–103 Clinical Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G3, Canada (Fax: +1 780 492 0364; Email: arto.ohinmaa{at}ualberta.ca)

The utilization of telemental health (TMH) services in Finland was surveyed in 2006. In total, 135 health-care units provided responses. Eighty-four responses were received from primary care units (health-care centres and clinics) and eight from other clinics, in all hospital districts. The overall rate of TMH consultations was 4 per 100,000 population. The highest TMH consultation per population ratio, 22 per 100,000, was in northern Finland. Most of the sites used telepsychiatry services for less than 10% of clinical outpatient services. The sites with over 20% utilization of clinical TMH services from all psychiatric consultations were all rural health centres. Compared with Finland, the utilization rates of TMH were higher in Canada; that might be due to differences between the countries in the organization of mental health services in primary and specialized care. In Finland TMH consultations made up only a very small proportion of all mental health services. The use of TMH was particularly common in remote areas; however, there were many rural centres that did not utilize clinical TMH. TMH was widely utilized for continuing and medical education.

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