Social care client information systems in Finnish municipality social services in 2017

Authors

• Vesa Jormanainen THL
• Maarit Rötsä
• Kimmo Parhiala

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.76835

Keywords:

social welfare [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p3281], social work [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p3286], information and communications technology [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p20743]

Abstract

Various types of data systems technology has become part of current working environments, also in social care and social work. In Finland, social care information systems were used in almost all the municipalities in the end of 1990s. Previous enquiries in Finland that have focused on client data systems’ trademarks were carried out among social care organisations in national questionnaire studies in 2001, 2011, 2014 and 2017. However, a major problem in these studies has been a remarkable rate of withdrawals (over 50%). In this study, we investigated the trademarks of social care client data systems used in social care in every municipality in 2017 in Finland (100% coverage). In highly concentrated (HHI>2500) markets in municipality social care client data systems in Finland, three data systems manufacturers provided five trademarks for 294 municipalities in 2017, whereas no electronic social care client data systems was used in 17 municipalities. The two market leader providers’ (Tieto and CGI) total market share was 90% by municipality and 95% by population calculations. Tieto’s Effica Sosiaalihuolto and CGI’s Pro Consona Sosiaalitoimi total market share together varied 73–82% by municipality or population calculations. Helsinki and Vantaa towns used ATJ/VATJ electronic social care client data system, the mean population of which was 427,000 (mean population per municipality). Market leader Effica was used in municipalities with larger numbers of inhabitants (27,600) whereas Pro Consona in smaller municipalities (9,600). Municipality social care used mainly one client data systems’ trademark in five hospital district areas, whereas two trademarks in 13 and 3–4 trademarks in three hospital district areas in 2017 in Finland.