The main benefit of Sjunet is that it allows secure communications and distribution of patient data, pictures and medical applications as well as video and voice services –something that is not possible with the internet.
Sjunet acts as a closed network, meaning it can only be accessed by health professionals and social welfare workers. It is therefore immune to viruses, spam or other intrusions. “We can control who uses Sjunet and if people misuse it, they get disconnected,” Johansson says.
“Sjunet is always available and has all the capacity needed to send large amounts of data.”
There are cost benefits, too. Johansson says the county councils pay a monthly fee based on the capacity they use. The lowest capacity costs SEK 1100. “This allows county councils to control their spending and, for a monthly flat fee, they have unlimited usage of Sjunet,” he says.
The next challenge for Johansson and his team is to interconnect private care givers and small municipalities, and the hope is that Sjunet will eventually interact with similar networks in Europe.
Johansson says there have already been successful trials carried out between the Nordic and Baltic countries, and there has been some collaboration between Sjunet and a telemedicine clinic in Barcelona. “At Sollefteå Hospital in the north of Sweden they have an X-ray unit but no specialist to analyze the images,” he says. “So, they send the images to Barcelona where doctors, who specialize in the field, evaluate them and send the results back within hours.”
Johansson thinks the collaboration between regional care givers is especially important as people move around a lot. “If a person is injured and needs treatment, doctors can do a much better job if they know what medicine they take or what kind of allergies they have,” he says. “I believe it’s just a matter of time before these type of activities spread all over Europe.”
Torunn Hansen-Tangen
