The wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland
Digital service brings advances to disclosure of information
Treatment of the future is based on research results that can be accessed through data. The disclosures of information leading to these are managed in the Luotsi system. One of the statutory tasks of a university hospital is to safeguard scientific research and develop it in its sector. Auria Clinical Informatics under the Southwest Finland wellbeing services county was established in 2014 to support biobanking and to compile the data required for scientific research. Today, they also want to be a pioneer in digital development. Together with Auria Clinical Informatics, we developed a system called Luotsi for the disclosure of patient data, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer management.
Our work
- UX design
- User research
- Component library (Figma)
- Technology mapping and choices
- Full stack development
- Agile software development
Baseline and challenges
For Auria Clinical Informatics, modern technology solutions based on open-source code and a strong understanding of patient data play a key role in implementing their operations and serving customers. The organisation serves academics engaged in health science research, the pharmaceutical industry, doctors and students, as well as many authorities and central government bodies. In order for customer service to be first-class, Auria Clinical Informatics also wants to be a pioneer in information production solutions.
After the amendments to the so-called secondary use act, the patient data disclosure record that Auria Clinical Informatics used, in which the disclosures of research cohorts and customer data were recorded, no longer met all the requirements laid down in the act. It was also originally implemented in such a way that it no longer served the needs of the organisation and its users. In other words, the key reasons for the need for the new system were their own ERP and the statutory logging of the disclosure of patient data.
It is natural for organisations like this to utilise external software engineers in their own digital development projects. In this way, they gain competence for their team that is not justified to acquire, as direct support for core activities does not require extensive full stack competence. “We called for bids with several actors providing software consultants to implement the Luotsi project, and Identio’s willingness to understand, listen to our needs and offer versatile solutions, and the will to bring the project to a successful conclusion got our trust”, says Project Manager Minna Blomster.
The introduction of Luotsi saves a significant amount of time in our customer service, and it makes it much easier to develop our operations.
– Minna Blomster, Project Manager, Auria Clinical Informatics
What did we do?
UX and UI design
Auria Clinical Informatics believes that simple, carefully thought-out solutions will stand the test of time. This is why they decided to invest in the software design phase. Together with the customer, we carried out a user research in which users of the previous disclosure record were interviewed and observed. The survey discovered that the challenges faced by users were not so much related to the functionality of the system itself or its user interface, but rather to the complex series of events required to make one entry. In addition, they learned that users had come up with different kinds of tricks to complete tasks that the old system could not perform. Based on this information, we started designing a new system that would genuinely facilitate
users’ work and serve their needs better.
After the survey, we outlined a system map and information architecture that serve as a basis for the design of the user interface. Clarity and usability were important in the new user interface. We also considered the customer’s brand, which guided colour and typography choices. As the final output of the design phase, we provided the customer with the UI designs of the new system in the form of an interactive prototype built with Figma. The prototype included most of the views of the new system. We also created a component library for Figma, which made it possible for the customer to build more views if necessary.
Software development
The starting point of the project was that the aim was to first build a minimum viable product from the new system, i.e., an MVP. Together with the customer, we first defined the MVP’s objectives, project schedule and monitoring methods, communication channels, project organisation and roles. Identio’s software consultant was responsible for the development of the new system.
In the initial phase, we first had to make technology choices that we went through together with
the customer. Key criteria included finding experts also in the future, the maturity and stability of
technologies, software languages and interfaces, and the functionality and agility of software language development communities. The project decided to use React, Remix and TypeScript. We also helped the Auria Clinical Informatics team to take control of new technologies and responded to e.g. the Project Manager’s enquiries about integrations with different platforms.
Together with the customer, we built a completely new system that includes a dashboard, project listing and customer tab. The system makes it easy to manage projects, i.e. customer information requests. It includes a search function, project status, key information and the possibility to modify projects and customer relationships. Above all, it enables the statutory logging of disclosures of information, projects and services provided.
The new system will also make it easier to serve the authorities. If the authorities ask for grounds for disclosure of information, any employee can respond to the enquiry without a technical background or competence, using a graphical user interface. In the old system, this was not possible and required the user to know at least the basics of SQL.
From the beginning, the co-operation was characterised by strong, mutual trust and a positive attitude to work. The development work was carried out sensibly and, above all, in a high-quality manner, step by step.
From the beginning, the co-operation was characterised by strong, mutual trust and a positive attitude to work. The development work was carried out sensibly and, above all, in a high-quality manner, step by step.
– Joni Virtanen, Software Engineer, Identio
Results and the future
The Luotsi software will operate in the browser window of the internal network of Auria Clinical Informatics and facilitate the work of those who extract data and disclose data, as well as unit management and account managers. Luotsi supports ERP, customer management and invoicing monitoring. The information stored in the software database also helps the customer identify the costs incurred in providing the service and schedule the work in the future.
With the new software, Auria Clinical Informatics can be responsible for the disclosure of information in the register in accordance with the secondary use act. According to their calculations, the new software saves a great deal of time in customer service work, as the new software also enables monitoring the status of customer projects. Auria Clinical Informatics confirms that Luotsi is guiding the organisation towards more standardised, high-quality information production.
They strongly believe that other Finnish controllers would also benefit from this solution in the
future.
Summary
- Performing a user research as part of the UX design process
- Ul designs and component library implemented with Figma
- Technology mapping and choosing technologies so that the product stands the test of time, and
its further development is easy
- Full stack development using agile methods and developing the MVP product together with the
customer
Auria Clinical Informatics
Auria Clinical Informatics is the first Finnish Digital Innovation Hub in the health sector. Internationally, Auria Clinical Informatics is the first hub that combines biobanking and clinical patient data into a database and computing environment that serves researchers and enables the secondary use of secure and lawful patient data. Digital Innovation Hubs serve as interfaces to practice and customers. The two key prerequisites for obtaining the Digital Innovation Hub status (DIH) are established operations and the opportunity to act as a test platform and development environment for electronic services that utilise the latest technology. An external evaluation is required to obtain the status.
Auria Clinical Informatics promotes research by, for example, enabling disclosure of information, developing an operating environment for data processing that requires high information security, and also by maintaining development work carried out with external funding. In recent years, the hub has participated in both national and international projects.
Interested in cooperation?
We'll be happy to tell you more about the work we do.
Joonas Korgan
+358 40 568 4617