The Finnish Association of Hospital Economy

Author:

Seppo Tuomola

Leading Consultant, VIA Group

E-mail: [email protected]

A Co-operation Body for Administrative, Financial and Service Employees in Healthcare Units

The Finnish Association of Hospital Economy was founded in 1928. The Association has 1,100 members employed in the healthcare sector and also includes a number of regional associations and affiliated units. The Association publishes its own journal eight times per year.

The Finnish Association of Hospital Economy will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2008. The Association aims to act as a cooperation body for administrative, financial and service employeesin healthcare units. Thus, the members of the Association include not only the managerial staff of the hospitals but also other administrative and financial employees working in healthcare.

The Finnish Association of Hospital Economy has a regional organisation that covers the whole of Finland. Fifteen regional associations cover every hospital in Finland. The regional associations organise seminars and training events for their members and travel both within Finland and abroad.

In order to remain active, the Finnish Association of Hospital Economy also includes three affiliated trade associations. They are called the Association of Health Care Technology, the Association of Diet Specialists in Health Care and the Association of Health Care Stock Keepers. The affiliated trade associations also hold their own meetings and make educational visits.

A Journal and Congresses

The operations of the Finnish Association of Hospital Economy include the journal “Sairaala” (Hospital) that is published eight times a year and deals with current matters relating to healthcare.

In recent years, and in addition to themes concerning the finance and administration of healthcare, the journal has published numerous articles on health policy and the structures of healthcare in Finland.

A significant annual event is the national hospital economy meeting organised early in the autumn and usually attended by 300-400 healthcare professionals. Each year, coinciding with the two-day event, there is also an exhibition of hospital equipment with 50-100 exhibitors. In recent years, the

Association has organised seminars on health policy in the spring. The purpose of the seminars is to offer a forum for political health discussions taking place in Finland.

International Activities

The Finnish Association has been a member of the EAHM since the very beginning of its establishment in the early 1970s, together with other Nordic countries. The main purpose of its participation in the European context has been to enter into deeper conversation and cooperation with other European countries. The Chairman of the Finnish Association is a member of the EAHM. Finnish representatives attend the annual meetings of the EAHM and Finland itself once hosted a meeting in 1996.

The Strategy of the Association

The Finnish Association of Hospital Economy has a strategy, according to which it shall place special emphasis on promoting new ideas, development opportunities and models of operation during the next few years. For this purpose, the Association also distributes grants to its members each year.

Another important strategic goal is to increase the significance of the Association in having an influence on the development of healthcare in the country. This aim is being implemented with the help of the journal “Sairaala” and seminars on health policy .