Customer experiences with the Medanets Patient Card
This article is based on a presentation given at the Medanets User Days 2025 by Ville Jalo, the designer of information management services in the Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland. The presentation focused on the pilot of the Medanets Patient card feature and its impact on care work.
On the patient card, the nurse can view a patient’s basic demographic and clinical information, such as diagnoses, allergies, patient alerts/risks and lab results. The Patient card also contains the contact information of the patient’s next of kin, who can be called directly from the app.
Objectives and SWOT analysis of the pilot
In 2023, the Patient card feature of the Medanets app was piloted in Turku University Hospital. The goal of the pilot was to assess how the feature supports the work of nursing staff and to determine whether it could be recommended for broader implementation across other units of the hospital.
The SWOT analysis conducted during the pilot identified several key factors:
- Strengths: sufficient implementation skills, availability of existing devices, users‘ previous experience with the Medanets app, and cost-effectiveness.
- Weaknesses: lack of integration with the laboratory system and the timing of the pilot during the summer months.
- Threats: potential lack of staff commitment and network disruptions.
- Opportunities: Improved staff experience and increased patient safety.
Most significant contributions from pilot units
The pilot units actively tested the Patient card feature across various clinical patient care situations. The users in these units reported any issues they faced to the contact persons of the project team, who then forwarded the information to the development services. Additionally, the pilot units committed to completing the user survey at the end of the pilot phase.
Results of the user survey of the pilot
| Usability and necessity of the Patient card feature in nursing work (n=12) | avg. |
|---|---|
| I could use the Patient card feature regularly. | 4,3 |
| I find the Patient card easy to use. | 4,8 |
| The different functions of the Patient card are successfully linked together. | 4,2 |
| The Patient card feature is necessary for nursing work. | 4,2 |
| The patients‘ and their families‘ contact details in the Patient card feature are needed in nursing work. | 3,8 |
| Seeing the patient’s risk information in the Patient card feature is necessary for nursing work. | 4,8 |
| Seeing the patient’s diagnoses in the Patient card feature is necessary for nursing work. | 4,1 |
| The Patient card feature increases patient safety. | 4,1 |
| The display of laboratory results in the Patient card feature would be useful for nursing work. | 4,8 |
5 = completely agree, 1 = strongly disagree
„It’s really handy to be able to look up diagnoses and risk information while being next to the patient or when administering medication, for example.“
„Seeing lab results in Medanets would be helpful because patients often ask about the results, which then need to be checked on the computer.“
„In the home hospital, every piece of information on the Patient card is essential. Without the patient’s contact details, we would have no way of knowing where the patient’s home is located.“
„Ordering a taxi became easier because you can see the patients‘ addresses directly on your mobile device.“
„It would be helpful to also view the relationship between the patient and their next of kin when accessing their contact information in the app.“
„When we get SIM cards for the phones, calls to relatives made through the app will surely increase.„
The results of the feedback survey help to improve both the internal practices of the organisation and the solution itself. The results have also been shared with Medanets, and the development work is ongoing in collaboration.
Outcome of the pilot: expanded use
As a result of the pilot, the decision was made to implement the Patient card across the service units of the Turku University Hospital. The anticipated future integration with the laboratory system is expected to further increase the solution’s popularity among users.
At the end of the presentation, Jalo emphasised that the full benefits of the Patient card are achieved when risk information and diagnoses are kept up-to-date in the EHR, and when the phone is equipped with a SIM card for calling.
Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest information on us, our solutions and other healthcare and health technology topics in one package.