Research on digital health services receives Academy Project Funding of €950,000

The research project Economics of Digital Health Care Services, led by Professor of Health Economics Mika Kortelainen and Academy Research Fellow Lauri Sääksvuori, has been awarded €950,000 in funding. The project aims to generate new research evidence to improve the implementation of digital health technologies and optimize digital health care delivery.

The project is motivated by the rapid digital transformation of health care services. Despite the rapid expansion of digital health services, evidence on their real-world impacts remains limited.

– Our project examines the economic and social effects of digital health care transformation on health care utilization, cost-efficiency, and service effectiveness, Kortelainen says.

The study uses large individual-level datasets and state-of-the-art statistical methods.

In addition, the project investigates how patients and service providers engage with new digital health services and whether digital tools improve patient health outcomes.

The research project is a joint initiative between the University of Turku and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Of the total funding, €455,000 is allocated to the University of Turku and just over €490,000 to THL. At the University of Turku, the project is led by Professor of Health Economics Mika Kortelainen and is administratively based in the Department of Economics at Turku School of Economics. At THL, the project is led by Academy Research Fellow Lauri Sääksvuori. Both Kortelainen and Sääksvuori are also affiliated with the INVEST Research Flagship Centre.