“We should roll up our sleeves to strengthen primary healthcare. Specialised healthcare cannot make up for what’s lacking in statutory basic public services,” says Professor of Public Health Medicine Harri Hyppölä.
Appointed in November, 30% of Hyppölä’s working time is allocated to the professorship. He is also the Chief Physician of Internal Medicine at the Emergency Department of the South Savo Wellbeing Services County.
The professorship in public health medicine is new at the University of Eastern Finland and only the second of its kind in the entire country.
“One of my key tasks is to coordinate specialist training in public health medicine across the collaborative area of the wellbeing services counties in Eastern Finland. We have more than 20 physicians doing their residency in this field, and public health medicine is it is among the top ten most popular medical specialties in Finland.”
Specialist training in public health medicine provides skills for management and development roles in healthcare, and Hyppölä believes that changes in the healthcare and social welfare sector have sparked interest in the field. Specialists in public health medicine are employed not only by hospitals, but also by research institutes, governmental and municipal administration and the private sector.
“Physicians who are completing their specialist training with us are working in central hospitals as well as in the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and in the Finnish Defence Forces, for example. They are also working elsewhere in Finland, as the university’s specialist training is not tied to any specific location.”
“Many already hold a specialist degree in one of the more traditional fields of medicine, but public health medicine can just as well be chosen as the sole specialty,” says Hyppölä, who himself is also a specialist in internal medicine, and in emergency medicine.
While the diversity of people’s backgrounds and goals must be taken into consideration in the specialist training, uniform and high-quality guidance and assessment must be ensured for all.
“This is now better facilitated, thanks to coordination being in single hands.”
The family doctor system would improve patient safety
Hyppölä hopes to contribute to the development of public health medicine. “Primary healthcare has been strengthened mainly in ceremonial speeches, and its problems are reflected in specialised healthcare. The situation is so bad that we must do something.”
According to Hyppölä, the family doctor system, for example, has been found to be effective in many countries, and the system should be further studied and developed in Finland as well. “In a permanent doctor-patient relationship, the patient gets help faster and with fewer follow-up visits errors.”
Finland’s current government seeks to promote the introduction of the family doctor model in a way that allows the wellbeing services counties to choose a method that suits them best. In the models currently being piloted in Oulu and Western Uusimaa, physicians operate as entrepreneurs, and Hyppölä says he is looking forward to the experiences gained from the pilot projects.
In recent years, Hyppölä’s own research has focused, from the perspective of specialised healthcare, on emergency department patient flows and delays in seeking care. “Emergency care is a significant transit point for patients, offering diverse settings for research.”
As Professor of Public Health Medicine, Hyppölä is also responsible for supervising doctoral researchers in his field and teaching healthcare administration to physicians. “Administrative matters are mentioned only in passing in basic medical training, and students do not find them very interesting. However, all physicians completing their specialist training must undergo mandatory, multi-professional management training, which, thanks to accumulated work experience, they are beginning to find increasingly relevant.”
Harri Hyppölä
- Professor of Public Health Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, 1 November 2024–
- Lic. Med. 1997, MD 2001, Specialist in Public Health Medicine 2006, University of Kuopio
- Specialist in Internal Medicine 2010, Specialist in Emergency Medicine 2013, University of Eastern Finland
- Title of Docent in Public Health Medicine 2012, University of Tampere
Key roles:
- Chief Physician of the Emergency Department, South Savo Health Care District/South Savo Wellbeing Services County, 2019–
- Chair of the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim Delegation, 2022–
- Project Manager, North Savo Health Care District, 2017–2019
- Chief Physician of the Emergency Department, Kuopio University Hospital, 2011–2017
- Resident and Specialist in Internal Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, 2006–2010
- Medical Director, Schering Oy, 1999–2002
- Medical curriculum renewal planning, Clinical Lecturer and Project Manager roles, University of Kuopio 1996–1997, 1999 and 2003–2006
For further information, please contact:
Professor Harri Hyppölä, harri.hyppola@fimnet.fi, tel. +358 40 5124772