In many countries, the level of sick leave in the workforce is constantly growing - in Sweden alone it is estimated to cost more than EUR 25 billion per year, not to mention the strain put on the afflicted individual. While there are many reasons for this, and often hard to pinpoint, most medical experts agree that a personalized care program initiated as early as possible is one way of speeding up recovery time and helping individuals, as well as employers, deal with the situation.

With the aim of offering companies a complete administrative solution to help employers and staff deal with sick leave, Swedish healthcare provider Vitea has developed a contact-center service solution named Frisklinjen (Health Line) in cooperation with operator Telia Sonera and Ericsson. Jeanet Mariussen, product manager at Ericsson Enterprise, says the goal is to cut time spent on administration so as to free up resources for care giving. "Frisklinjen is a tool that helps employees recover from illness as quickly as possible, benefiting both themselves and their employers," Mariussen says.

The solution enables continuous and individual monitoring of sick employees by Vitea's qualified medical staff, while also minimizing the administrative routines involved. This means more resources are devoted to medical attention and less to paperwork.

Frisklinjen is sold by, among others, Telia Sonera, Dotcom and TDC Internordia, and is based on Ericsson Enterprise's Branch Gateway (EEBG) together with Ericsson's Solidus eCare contact-center software. Vitea uses Ericsson's MD110 BC12, an IP-enabled exchange that allows for an IP-based solution, something which Mariussen says offers many benefits: "The advantages are that contact center staff can be based in different locations and also use different channels of communication, from e-mail and chat to phone and fax, or even mobile phones when Ericsson's Mobile Extension solution is used."

Mariussen says an IP-based solution is also better equipped to handle large data volumes and to safeguard integrity and security - important concerns in applications where potentially sensitive and highly personal information is transmitted. She adds that Vitea also saves money by having one network for all communications, which means they don't have to use leased lines.

Vitea's solution goes to work as soon as an employee calls in sick. The call is automatically routed to a medical expert at Vitea, who files a report and is assigned personal responsibility for monitoring the patient throughout the period of illness. On the third day of absence, Solidus eCare automatically prompts a call-back from the care company to the employee, inquiring how the employee is feeling, if any special assistance is called for, or if he or she needs help in finding a specialist.

On the seventh day, the employee automatically receives an SMS, reminding him or her that it is time for another medical check-up at a physician's, because the social insurance office and the employer require certification. After 20 days of illness, Vitea hands the case over to the social insurance office and informs the care receiver of this.

In addition, Vitea is also active in offering advice on preventive measures to combat work-related health problems and in setting up personalized rehabilitation programs for employees with long-term illnesses.

Read more about Ericsson's Solidus eCare solution here. http://www.ericsson.com/enterprise/products/solidusecare.shtml

About Vitea (In Swedish): http://www.vitea.se/vitea2_1/textholders/10H.asp