Suvanto Care Safety Service

The company has collected user experiences from both individual customers and organisations. No actual clinical impact assessments have been carried out with the project.

Based on user experience, using the system has reduced the number of physical visits, increased remote visits and eased the workload. In addition, using the service has made it possible for organisations to have more diverse job descriptions.  The experiences of individual organisations are influenced by the changes that have taken place in their operating practices at the same time.¹

In the pilot project, the product was used in both home monitoring and remote rehabilitation.  Remote rehabilitation was found to be effective. The project revealed that a large amount of data is accumulated and this took a considerable amount of working time to process. During the project, data analytics were transferred to the product manufacturer, but it was found that data processing was still taking time. The purchasing organisation must create working methods for utilising the data.²

There are countless different remote monitoring systems operating at home. Some studies and a few reviews of the subject were found in the literature search. The problem is that all products are slightly different and combine, for example, different sensors (customer sensors, room sensors) in different ways. There are also differences in how the data produced by different sensors have been combined and presented. Based on the reviews, it appears that remote monitoring can be useful in detecting a decrease in functional ability, so more detailed examinations can be carried out slightly earlier than otherwise. In addition, it seems to provide useful support for living at home.³

Home monitoring in the care of older people increases their independence and can improve treatment outcomes ⁴. The studies carried out are small in terms of materials and short follow-up periods. Therefore, there is limited scientific evidence of the effect of products on clinical result measures.^5,6

The use of the Suvanto Care Safety Service has expanded considerably in recent years and the producer is launching studies to obtain evidence of effectiveness.  

According to the information available, the company has tried to minimize the risks associated with the safety of its product^1,7. The company has processes at its disposal to ensure the safety of its product and to address safety-related risks encountered during use⁷. The system automatically monitors the technical operation of the equipment and, inter alia, the battery status will give an automatic alarm if necessary¹.

Since the remote devices and services connected to the service platform are combined through the communication links provided by third parties, their malfunctions may result in occasional breaks in the service independent of the service platform¹.  To ensure the safety of the service solution, service providers must monitor the operating processes defined in product training¹.

The price of the product consists of the costs of setting up the service and the monthly operating costs. The amount of both charges depends on the extent to which different devices are commissioned. In addition, the initial costs of training will be borne by the organisation. The costs for the organisation can be calculated more precisely during the product procurement phase when service packages are compiled to meet the needs of the organisation and end users.¹ 

The organisation decides how to charge the customer for the use of the product.  For the customer, the billing may remain the same, even if some of the visits are dropped or replaced by a remote visit.  From the organisation’s point of view, the use of the product can reduce travel time and costs.

Customers can also purchase the product privately as Suvanto Care service. In this case, the costs of setting up the service and monthly operating costs are to be borne by the customer.¹

Based on the information provided by the manufacturer, it appears that the cost of using the service is reasonable when compared with the provision of an equivalent service in another way.¹

The assessment was carried out using the database for data security and data protection requirements for social welfare and health care procurement⁸ and the response material provided by Suvanto Care Oy in an informal manner.

Based on the information received from the manufacturer, the product complies with data security and data protection requirements.  Customer-specific interfaces and integrations with systems outside  the Suvanto Care security service are not included in this assessment.

Adding federated user management to the service may cause additional costs, which are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The service includes a number of devices that bring their own risks in terms of data security and data protection. The manufacturer declares that they will take into account the level of security of equipment when selecting equipment for this service.

Processing of personal data

The retention periods of personal data collected by the Service (e.g. a security phone call log) can be defined on a customer-by-client basis. Suvanto Care Oy stores personal data in the data centre in the European Economic Area. In a machine room environment, encryption is not always necessary due to access control and other security arrangements. The database in the data room is not encrypted.

Instructions for clients considering purchasing the product

Before starting the procurement process, it is advisable to consult the organisation’s ICT and information security experts and the data protection officer.

The assessment of usability and accessibility concerns the mobile application related to the service and the online service. Separate devices connected to the service are not covered by this assessment.

The information content provided to a relative through the application may be more limited compared to the information provided to the professionals. There is no separate user interface for the customer (e.g. an elderly person living at home) in the service platform.¹

The company has a process that takes account of customer feedback as part of the continuous development of usability and accessibility¹.

Based on the supplier’s answers, the language and content of the service have been implemented clearly and concretely. The service has avoided special terminology unless its use is mandatory, for example from the point of view of identifying a function.¹

At the time of the assessment (April 2021), Suvanto Care Security Service does not meet all the key accessibility criteria (WCAG 2.1. levels A and AA)^9,10. Deviations are reported in the Accessibility Report.^1,11 The company has an electronic feedback channel for accessibility feedback (info@suvantocare.fi)¹¹. The company will respond to feedback within 14 days¹¹.

The purchasing organisation must take into account the requirements of the Digital Services Act and note that it is the service provider’s responsibility to meet the requirements.

The online service is available on all the most common operating systems in the Chrome browser. The mobile app of the service is available on Android and iOS devices¹.

Updates of the professional user interface will be transferred to the production environment after internal and closed testing without interruption in the services¹. Updates of the mobile app will be released after a closed beta testing phase for customers in Google Play and App Store app stores¹.

If necessary, the product can be integrated into other systems through a customer-specific interface¹. The service platform enables integration into various ERP systems for nursing services (care ERP)¹. Depending on the needs of the service provider, an interface for the product can be implemented into the Kanta Service Personal Health Records¹.

The use of the service can be limited to only a part of the service modules, for example in situations where it is not practical for the customer to continue living in their own home.

Training and product support

Suvanto Care Oy organises training and user guidance continuously in the early stages of product commissioning and during use¹. The languages of the training can be Finnish, Swedish or English¹.

Suvanto Care Oy and Elisa Digihoiva service offer telephone and email support and training support services to end users.

To support commissioning, the company offers its customers a project plan, service description and support for the development of the care process, as well as a support website with instructions according to the needs of customer groups (professionals, administrators, consumers).¹

Market penetration

The service has customers in Finland by dozens of municipalities and joint municipal authorities, and it has also been in use abroad for several years¹.

1. Company filled Digital Health Technology Assessment, not public information
2. Älykäs koti 2 -loppuraportti, PHHYKY, 2018. (“The Smart Home 2 final report”) In Finnish.
3. Camp et al 2021. Technology Used to Recognize Activities of Daily Living in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Int. J.Environ. Res.Public Health 2021,18,163. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18010163
4. Sapci & Sapci 2019. Innovative Assisted Living Tools, Remote Monitoring Technologies, Artificial Intelligence-Driven Solutions, and Robotic Systems for Aging Societies: Systematic Review. JMIR Aging 2019;2(2):e15429. DOI: 10.2196/15429
5. Wang et al 2021. Unobstrusive Health Monitoring in Private Spaces: The Smart Home. Sensors 2021,21:864. DOI 10.3390/s21030864
6. Liu et al 2016. Smart homes and home health monitoring technologies for older adults: A systematic review. Int. J. of Medical Informatics 2016;91:44-59. Doi:10.10116/j.ijmedinf.2016.04.007
7. Suvanto Care Oy. Preparedness and continuity management plan, not public information
8. National Emergency Supply Agency. Cyber Health Project. Information security and data protection requirements for social welfare and health care procurement.
9. Act on the Provision of Digital Services 306/2019
10. Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland, Accessibility supervision unit. Requirements of the Act on Provision of Digital Services  https://www.webaccessibility.fi/requirements-of-the-act-on-the-provision-of-digital-services/ Read on 26.4.2021
11. . Suvanto Care accessibility report (in Finnish) https://www.suvantocare.fi/saavutettavuusseloste/ Read on 29.4.2021

Petra Falkenbach, Senior Planning Officer, FinCCHTA

Jari Haverinen, Senior Planning Officer, FinCCHTA

Jari Jääskelä, Information Security Expert, OUSPG, University of Oulu