About us
The Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare provides information on the use of healthcare services in Finland and abroad. We share information on our online service and our customer service answers questions by e-mail. We cooperate with both clients and authorities.
Each member state of the European Union has its own Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare. The contact points are responsible for communications and the exchange of information related to cross-border healthcare. In Finland, the contact point is located within Kela.
Tasks of the contact point
The Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare compiles, produces and disseminates information, for example,
- on the use of health services in Finland and abroad
- for patients from Finland seeking healthcare abroad and foreign patients seeking healthcare in Finland
- on the reimbursement of medical care costs incurred abroad
- on the European prescription
- on the rights of patients.
The tasks of the contact point are regulated by the Act on Cross-Border Healthcare.
The contact point provides services online and by e-mail
- Do you have questions about health services abroad or in Finland? You can reach the Contact Point’s customer service at yhteyspiste(at)kela.fi. We will respond within five working days. Our e-mail service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.
- We maintain and develop the EU-healthcare.fi website, which provides information on using health services in Finland and abroad. The website provides information on patient rights, treatment costs and their reimbursement as well as healthcare in different countries, among other things. The website has an information section dedicated to healthcare employees.
- The EU-healthcare.fi website is available in Finnish, Swedish, English and Northern Sami, as well as Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign language.
We work in cooperation with authorities and organisations
We develop our services and communication together with our partners. For example, our website is provided in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM), the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA). Our web service has a committee whose task is to plan the development of the online service’s contents and functionalities while ensuring that the information is consistent and customer-oriented. The committee includes representatives from Kela, THL, STM, HUS, Fimea, Kanta services, the Finnish Association of Private Care Providers HALI ry and SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health.
We work in cooperation with the EU Commission and Contact Points for Cross-Border Healthcare in other countries. We update our website with country-specific information on health services together with the contact points in other countries. In addition, we regularly discuss current issues related to cross-border healthcare with different actors.
If your organisation is interested in working with us, you can reach us at yhteyspiste(at)kela.fi.
We develop our services together with our customers
We develop our operations also together with our customers. You are warmly welcome to join our online customer panel. You can also send feedback on EU-healthcare.fi using the “Give feedback” function.
Vision, mission and values
Our vision is to be a well-known international healthcare expert offering an excellent customer experience.
Our mission is to promote patient rights. We provide information and advice to our customers and partners and we contribute to the field of cross-border healthcare.
Operations in line with our values are
- Customer oriented
- Reliable
- Cooperative
- Proficient
Our strategic objectives
In 2023–2028, we will focus on these strategic priorities:
- Customer insight: we want to provide an excellent customer experience for our customers and partners.
- Cooperation: we work together with our partners for the benefit of our customers.
- Advocacy: we promote patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare.