Terveystalo quality indicators
Correct and effective treatment is at the core of our work, and effective metrics are the key to developing our quality and operations. We monitor and measure our work and continuously compare the treatment we administer with indicators such as the Current Care Guidelines, accepted occupational healthcare practices, other operators in the sector and average figures. Our high-quality treatment maintains our customers’ quality of life and work ability.
We believe in presenting the results in an open and transparent way as we can only develop our operations further by utilizing data. Our set of quality indicators is a tool for assessing the quality and effectiveness of our work and helps each person make choices regarding their treatment.
Quality index
Quality index – measures clinical and experienced quality
The purpose of the indicator is to depict the quality and its development in one figure.
In 2020, we introduced a new quality index comprised of four dimensions: high clinical quality, availability of care, preventive treatment and experienced quality both from the perspective of professionals and customers. Our quality index is comprised of seven key indicators: use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, number of prescriptions for drugs affecting the central nervous system in relation to visits to a physician, duration of sickness absence issued on the day of operation for surgical repair of the rotator cuff and the anterior cruciate ligament, percentage of preventive work of occupational health appointments, T3 indicating the availability of treatment (the third available appointment), NPS for appointments and eNPS.
Continuity of care
Continuity of care
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the continuity of care.
The indicator shows how many visits in the same speciality a customer has had at Terveystalo in the previous two years and how many specialists in the chosen field have treated the customer on those visits. Only customers with at least three visits in the previous two years for the same speciality are accounted for. Index 1 = every visit has been with the same specialist. Index 0 = every visit has been with a different specialist.
Experienced quality
NPS for appointments
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of appointments.
Terveystalo strives to offer its customers a superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers’ experiences of our services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
NPS for remote appointments
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of chat and video appointments.
At Terveystalo, we strive for a customer's superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers' experiences of the services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
NPS for hospital treatment
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of hospital treatment.
Terveystalo strives to offer its customers a superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers’ experiences of our services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
NPS for oral health
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of oral health services.
At Terveystalo, we strive for a customer's superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers' experiences of the services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
NPS for screening
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of customers who have had screening appointments.
Terveystalo strives to offer its customers a superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers’ experiences of our services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
NPS for appointments at health centers operated by Terveystalo
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of appointments at health centers operated by Terveystalo.
Terveystalo strives to offer its customers a superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers’ experiences of our services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the employee experience of the entire personnel.
We want to be the most desirable employer for professionals. The professional survey is one of our most important tools for improving internal procedures and supervisor work. The survey is aimed at all of our personnel, including private practitioners. In the employee survey, the employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is used as a key indicator of well-being and coping at work. The eNPS figure indicates the proportion of our employees and private practitioners who would recommend Terveystalo as a workplace to others.
Care quidelines
Number of prescriptions for drugs affecting the central nervous system in relation to physician’s appointments
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure a prescription practice in line with the Current Care Guidelines.
When used properly, drugs affecting the central nervous system are effective and necessary. However, because of their adverse effects, their use requires careful discretion by a physician. Drug abuse is a very common phenomenon. The objective of quality monitoring is to ensure the appropriate and safe use of medicines with abuse potential in the treatment of patients.
Prescribing cough medicines for children
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure a prescription practice in line with the Current Care Guidelines.
High-quality clinical trials have not been able to prove the effectiveness of cough medicines in children. Cough medicines are not recommended for the treatment of cough in children. Stopping the use of ineffective cough medicines improves the quality of the patients’ treatment.
Surgical procedures
Duration of sickness absence issued on the day of the operation (median)
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the duration of sickness absence issued on the day of the operation in the most common orthopedic surgeries and to promote more individual assessments of work ability.
Terveystalo has guidelines for the duration of sickness absences issued on the day of the operation in orthopedic surgeries and an operating model for transferring the patient’s work ability assessment to the occupational health physician. The objective is to enable faster return to work using a more individual assessment of work ability. Models of replacement work and lighter work are used in the return to work in accordance with the employer’s cooperation agreement. The indicator includes surgical repair of the anterior cruciate ligament and the rotator cuff.
Duration of incapacity for work after orthopedic surgery (median occupational accidents)
The purpose of the indicator is to assess the success of occupational accident treatment paths by measuring the duration of incapacity for work after surgery.
Recovery after an operation is assisted by treatment paths without delays, timely rehabilitation, and early planning of a return to work. This requires seamless cooperation between the operating orthopedist, physical therapist, and occupational health physician. All the sickness absences until the patient has a continuous work stint of 30 days are included in the duration of incapacity for work after the operation.
Improvement of functional capacity following surgery as assessed by the patient, 2022
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the effectiveness of surgical procedures as assessed by the patient using PROM (Patient Reported Outcome Measures).
PROM indicators illustrate the benefit of the treatment to the patient: the patient assesses their ability to function before the surgery and again 6 and 12 months after the operation. In the knee operation-related KOOS (Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score), shoulder-related WORC and WOSI (Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and Shoulder Instability Index) scores, 0 refers to the lowest and 100 to the highest ability to function. The score of the indicators can be compared with the values of the normal population. Only a sufficiently high increase in the score can be considered to be significant for the patient.
Improvement of functional capacity following surgery as assessed by the patient, 2021
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the effectiveness of surgical procedures as assessed by the patient using PROM (Patient Reported Outcome Measures).
PROM indicators illustrate the benefit of the treatment to the patient: the patient assesses their ability to function before the surgery and again 6 and 12 months after the operation. In the knee operation-related KOOS (Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score), shoulder-related WORC and WOSI (Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and Shoulder Instability Index) scores, 0 refers to the lowest and 100 to the highest ability to function. The score of the indicators can be compared with the values of the normal population. Only a sufficiently high increase in the score can be considered to be significant for the patient.
Improvement of functional capacity following surgery as assessed by the patient, 2020
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the effectiveness of surgical procedures as assessed by the patient using PROM (Patient Reported Outcome Measures).
PROM indicators illustrate the benefit of the treatment to the patient: the patient assesses their ability to function before the surgery and again 6 and 12 months after the operation. In the knee operation-related KOOS (Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score), shoulder-related WORC and WOSI (Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and Shoulder Instability Index) scores, 0 refers to the lowest and 100 to the highest ability to function. The score of the indicators can be compared with the values of the normal population. Only a sufficiently high increase in the score can be considered to be significant for the patient.
Improvement of functional capacity following surgery as assessed by the patient, 2019
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the effectiveness of surgical procedures as assessed by the patient using PROM (Patient Reported Outcome Measures).
PROM indicators illustrate the benefit of the treatment to the patient: the patient assesses their ability to function before the surgery and again 6 and 12 months after the operation. In the knee operation-related KOOS (Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score), shoulder-related WORC and WOSI (Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and Shoulder Instability Index) scores, 0 refers to the lowest and 100 to the highest ability to function. The score of the indicators can be compared with the values of the normal population. Only a sufficiently high increase in the score can be considered to be significant for the patient.
Improvement of functional capacity following surgery as assessed by the patient, 2018
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the effectiveness of surgical procedures as assessed by the patient using PROM (Patient Reported Outcome Measures).
PROM indicators illustrate the benefit of the treatment to the patient: the patient assesses their ability to function before the surgery and again 6 and 12 months after the operation. In the knee operation-related KOOS (Knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score), shoulder-related WORC and WOSI (Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and Shoulder Instability Index) scores, 0 refers to the lowest and 100 to the highest ability to function. The score of the indicators can be compared with the values of the normal population. Only a sufficiently high increase in the score can be considered to be significant for the patient.
Effectiveness of occuptional health care
Share of preventive work
The indicator describes the emphasis on preventive work in occupational health activities. The goal is for at least 60% of the activities to focus on preventive work.
Preventive occupational health activities support our corporate customers’ employees’ work ability and functional capacity while maintaining and improving well-being.
Oral health
Percentage of patients whose supporting dental tissues have been examined during a check-up
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure that supporting dental tissues are examined during check-ups.
Disorders of the supporting dental tissues are the most common oral diseases in the Finnish adult population. They also have the most significant impact on the development and treatability of various diseases. Disorders of the supporting dental tissues are underdiagnosed and undertreated. Detecting the disorder early gives the best chance for effective treatment.
Percentage of root canal therapies involving the use of a rubber dam
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure that root canal therapy is carried out in line with Current Care Guidelines.
The rubber dam isolates the treated tooth and prevents the patient’s bacteria from entering the isolated area. The use of rubber dams in root canal therapy is required in the Current Care Guidelines. It prevents contamination of the canal, therefore preventing the incurability of the infection that caused the need for the procedure or the inflammation of the canal which manifests itself as a chronic focus of infection on the bone surrounding the tip of the root.
Patient safety
Use of the Surgical Safety Checklist in surgical operations
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure the safety of surgical procedures.
The Surgical Safety Checklist is designed to improve surgical safety and reduce unnecessary complications. The objective of using the checklist is to coordinate and support the surgical team’s activities and avoid any errors by supporting accepted safety practices and improving communications and teamwork in surgical procedures. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends using the checklist in any surgical procedures.
Post-surgery infections
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor the occurrence of infections in the operated area.
The operated area is monitored for infections after all specialized surgical procedures.
Reimbursed patient claims in proportion to physicians’ appointments in the notification year
The purpose of the indicator is to describe the reimbursed patient claims in proportion to physicians’ appointments in the settlement year.
The share of reimbursed patient claims in physicians’ appointments describes the share of appointments that result in reimbursed patient claims.
The ratio of close call situations to hazardous events
The purpose of the quality indicator is to improve patient safety.
The ratio of close call situations to hazardous events indicates how well we anticipate potential risks. We identify the factors leading to the close call through root cause analysis and decide on measures to prevent hazardous events.
Operational efficiency
Referrals to short-term psychotherapy in occupational health services for patients suffering from mental health problems
The purpose of the indicator is to depict how well we refer our occupational health customers in need of psychotherapy to effective treatment in line with the Current Care Guidelines. Our goal is to provide an increasing proportion of our customers with referrals to short-term psychotherapy in occupational health services.
The proportion of occupational health customers who have received a mental health diagnosis (in other words an F diagnosis, most commonly diagnosis of depression or anxiety) and a consultation referral to psychotherapy. We want to enable the short-term psychotherapy treatment to start without delay, in a timely manner and in the early stages of the problem. We also monitor the effectiveness of short-term psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a primary treatment in line with the Current Care Guidelines for treating mild and moderate depression and anxiety disorder.
Days until next available appointment T3 clinics
The purpose of the indicator is to depict how quickly a customer can have a physician’s appointment.
T3, in other words the third available appointment with a physician.
Days until next available appointment T3 public services
The purpose of the indicator is to depict how quickly a customer can have a physician’s appointment.
T3, in other words the third available appointment with a physician.
Public services
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the physicians’ employee experience of staffing services.
We want to be the best working place for physicians in Finland. We measure physicians’ willingness to recommend their workplace twice a year. The employee experience of the entire Terveystalo personnel is measured in the spring and autumn, and the results are also analyzed per professional group and function.
NPS for appointments at health centers operated by Terveystalo
The purpose of the indicator is to measure the customer experience of appointments at health centers operated by Terveystalo.
Terveystalo strives to offer its customers a superior service experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures our customers’ experiences of our services. In the NPS survey, we randomly ask individual customers to assess their willingness to recommend our services. The NPS can range between -100 and 100. NPS over 50 is considered to reflect a good customer experience.
Days until next available appointment T3 public services
The purpose of the indicator is to depict how quickly a customer can have a physician’s appointment.
T3, in other words the third available appointment with a physician.
Realization of orientation for physicians in services
The purpose of the indicator is to measure how well the physician’s orientation at the new clinic has been carried out.
Good orientation increases patient safety, the quality of treatment and physicians’ satisfaction at work. Each year, services provide orientation for hundreds of physicians at new clinics, which is why it is important to measure the success of orientation. We have created a model to provide minimum requirements for good orientation. It contains three main pieces of criteria: the orientation uses Terveystalo’s 38-step orientation form, at least 2 hours are reserved for the orientation and neither party works in patient care during the orientation. In appointment services, it must also be ensured, if desired by the physician, that the first week’s schedule is lightened. The quality indicator measures the share of orientation procedures that have been carried out in line with the aforementioned requirements.
Securing the physician resources of on-call services
The purpose of the indicator is to monitor how many physicians are needed to produce the work input of one full-time (FTE=Full Time Equivalent) on-call physician.
Terveystalo’s on-call services produce doctor's services for several dozens of public emergency clinics nationwide. Terveystalo’s on-call physicians range from full-time employees to those working individual on-call shifts. A smaller number of physicians, in other words larger work input per physician, indicates that the physicians are satisfied with their work and produce better quality. On the other hand, the on-call resources must have a sufficient number of physicians to ensure the availability of services in any situation. Based on our experiences, 3 physicians/FTE is the ideal level.
Remote services
Number of prescriptions for drugs affecting the central nervous system in relation to physician’s chat-appointments
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure a prescription practice in line with the Current Care Guidelines.
When used properly, drugs affecting the central nervous system are effective and necessary. However, because of their adverse effects, their use requires careful discretion by a physician. Drug abuse is a very common phenomenon. The objective of quality monitoring is to ensure the appropriate and safe use of medicines with abuse potential in the treatment of patients. Drugs affecting the central nervous system are not prescribed at Terveystalo's chat physician appointments.
Number of prescriptions for antibiotics at physician’s chat-appointments
The purpose of the indicator is to ensure a prescription practice in line with the Current Care Guidelines in lower respiratory tract infections.
The diagnosis of a patient's lower respiratory tract infection involves a clinical examination by a physician. Detection of bacterial inflammation and directing the initiation of antibiotic treatment always takes place at physical appointment. Proper use of antibiotics improves the quality of patient care and reduces the development of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics for the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections are not prescribed at Terveystalo's chat physician appointments.