- Founder & CEO, Isla Terveys
- Innovator of the Year, winner
I want to change the way women are treated. In Finland, gynaecology is divided into very different fields between the private and public sectors. As a result, women often end up paying unreasonably high prices for their care.
Isla is a comprehensive and empathetic telehealth clinic for women. What makes it disruptive is that we provide gynaecological care remotely, something long considered impossible. In addition, I have been involved in developing Natal Mind, a digital birth coaching programme that aims to prevent and identify postpartum depression.
I may be frustratingly solution-oriented, and find it difficult to stay within systems that operate in ways I consider unreasonable or misaligned with my values. Finland’s social and health care system is facing a structural crisis that urgently calls for innovative thinking and new approaches to care. We must identify where digitalisation can bring added value, either by reducing costs or increasing returns, i.e., improving health.
Traditionally, Finland has viewed healthcare as solely as a cost, and when finances are tight, cutting services as the only option. I believe we need to start seeing healthcare as an investment, one that can generates both health and economic returns. Finland is well positioned to bring high-quality digital health solutions to global markets.
Personally, I have not experienced unequal treatment – except when it comes to discussions about funding! However, I am uncertain whether the attitudes were more related to the topic (women’s health) than to the fact that the founder is a woman.
Translation: Notaatio, edited. This is a shortened version, read the original here (in Finnish).