Theme 05: An example of online services accessible for elderly

With digitalisation, lots of services have been transferred online. For example bank services, social interaction, entertainment and health services are online nowadays. For elderly people, online services might be easy to access and bring the services close, but there are challenges too. Most of elderly people don’t know how to use digital devices. They might need help from their children or grandchildren. Another challenge is the increasing loneliness. Face to face services are important to lots of elderly people. They bring comfort and cure their loneliness by bringing small interactions into their daily lives. This is important especially if they don’t have any hobbies. 

However, the bright side is that digitalisation brings services close. An example of this is Kanta.fi. It enables health services online. One can check their prescriptions, laboratory results and health information easily without having to go to the health center. In the countryside, where the majority of the population is elderly people, one might have to travel a long way in order to get to the health center. Online services such as Kanta.fi have been designed to be as simple as possible. Strong authentication has also been made, so that the service is secure.

The online services should be made easy to access and there should be lots of guidance and support so that anyone can use them without issues.