Children will be able to access remote appointments: Medical Helpline in Uusimaa expands its service

Starting April 19, 2024, remote appointments can be offered for child patients seeking urgent medical attention by calling the Medical Helpline at the number 116117. The number is free of charge. Calls are taken by a nurse who assesses the child’s treatment needs and gives recommendations on how to proceed. If a remote appointment is suitable considering the symptoms, overall situation, and wishes of the child and guardian, a video appointment with a doctor will be held in Maisa, the online portal for health care customers.

Patients in need of emergency care are primarily treated at a health center. If your local health center is closed and your issue cannot wait until it is open again, Medical Helpline can help you at the number 116117. In an urgent case, you can go directly to an emergency department.

Surveys show high satisfaction with remote appointments

The remote appointment option has been available for adults from October 2021, and now the service will be expanded to include children whose medical issue does not require a physical visit to an emergency department.

“According to a study, 96% of adult patients have received the help they needed from the service, and 97% felt that the doctor’s consultation was easy and convenient. We have a very high customer satisfaction level and we've guaranteed patient safety by guiding certain patients to the physical emergency department based on symptom criteria,” says Specialist Arja Kobylin who is responsible for the development of remote appointment services.

Remote video appointments are available on Fridays from 4 to 10 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on midweek holidays.

The service is provided by Uusimaa Medical Helpline, maintained by HUS, to which calls are routed from the Uusimaa region, excluding Helsinki. The remote appointments are not available in Helsinki. If you are calling the Medical Helpline from an area that is close to the Uusimaa border, your call may be directed to a Medical Helpline maintained by another service provider. If necessary, you can contact the Uusimaa Medical Helpline specifically by calling 09 471 72328.

For patients over the age of 12, a remote appointment requires signing into Maisa with the patient's own online banking credentials. Patients under the age of 12 can join a remote appointment via their guardian's Maisa account, in which case the guardian's right to act on the behalf of the patient is verified via the Suomi.fi service.

Remote appointments may be offered to patients over the age of 1.