Coverage, Utilisation and Users of a Chat-Based Digital Primary Care Clinic in Publicly Funded Healthcare: A Registry-Based Observational Study in Finland

Digital primary care encounters increased from 15.2% to 25.8% between 2021 and 2025, with overall primary care coverage stabilizing around 44-48% in Finland.

• Why it matters: Understanding how digital clinics influence primary care access and utilization is crucial for optimizing healthcare delivery and resource allocation in publicly funded systems.
• What they did: The study analyzed 1.58 million encounters from 2019 to 2025 in a Finnish region, examining care patterns, patient demographics, diagnoses, and follow-up behaviors associated with a 24/7 chat-based digital clinic.
• The result: Findings show rising digital engagement, mostly managed at the nurse level, with about 60% of follow-ups remaining digital and less than 10% returning in person within 30 days, supporting digital clinics' role in primary care.