Danish health care investments offer plenty of opportunities for Finnish enterprises

Denmark is Finland’s 15th largest export country and the 10th biggest import trading partner. Compared to Finland’s trade with Sweden and Norway, Denmark is clearly a smaller trading partner. However, there are plenty of opportunities for enterprises in the health technology sector, for instance, associated both with regions that administer hospitals and with municipalities. Numerous ongoing major hospital investments serve as a springboard to the Danish market.

“Denmark is a small country that thinks big. In the global market, the country is a leading competitor in health care digitalisation and can serve as a gateway to not only Nordic but also international markets. Furthermore, the major hospital projects in Denmark offer good business opportunities for Finnish companies,” says Finnvera’s Finance Manager Laura Laine.

Denmark has carried out a health care and social welfare reform, and specialised health care has been divided among five regions that are responsible for hospitals and basic health care agreements. There are a little less than a hundred municipalities, responsible for services for the elderly, home care, and other social welfare services. Health care emphasises prevention and self-care. Instead of just treating illnesses, the focus is shifted to the empowerment of clients and their responsibility for their own health.

To this end, Denmark has developed electronic health services. One of the goals is to reduce hospital days with more effective treatment and the promotion of care taking place at home. Denmark is also developing biobank and genome data collection, which will be combined with medical records in the future. 

A window of opportunity is opening in IT and technology projects

Along with the health care and social welfare reform, Denmark has launched a Super Hospital Programme that consists of building six completely new central hospitals and renovating and modernising eleven old hospitals in the next six years.

The total investment in super hospitals is EUR 5.6 billion, with one fifth of the sum used for technology and information systems. In addition, a completely new children’s hospital will be built in Copenhagen, amounting to approximately EUR 200 million.

“Although the decision-making process is already completed for the majority of project developers and infrastructure and energy solutions, there is still a lot of export potential related to the overall future organisation and modernisation of health care, in logistics, health technology and various IT solutions, for instance. In many projects, IT and technology procurement tendering is beginning in the next couple of years, so the window of opportunity is opening for test and pilot projects, the search for local partners and the creation of visibility in Denmark. As part of the health care sector’s renewal, the role of out-patient care will also increase considerably in the future,” says Terhi Rasmussen, Senior Advisor at Business Finland’s Danish office.

Long-term cooperation helped Medixine enter the Danish market

With 15 years of experience in more than 10 countries, Medixine is one of the pioneers in electronic health care services in Europe. The enterprise has delivered solutions for more than 300,000 patients not only in Finland but also in other European countries, the United States and Asia. Medixine’s cloud software product brings together electronic service functionalities, patients and health care service providers and thus supports citizens’ and patients’ active role in maintaining and promoting their own health and well-being.

Last spring, the road to the Danish market opened as Medixine’s Danish partner Systematic A/S signed an agreement with Denmark’s southern health care region on the delivery of an EMR system. The agreement also covers electronic services based on Medixine’s product, including a patient portal, secure communications, queries and health coaching, among other things. In the southern region, the service encompasses 1.2 million residents and 23 points of care in 13 different hospitals.

“Systematic is one of the most significant players in the Danish market, and right from the start, it has set its goal to large regional projects. Our long-term cooperation led to a significant success. Medixine’s strengths include its extensive experience in electronic health services and the fact that the starting point for our product design is international use and easy configuration according to the needs of different organisations,” comments Medixine’s CEO Tapio Jokinen.

Further information:

Team Finland in Denmark

• In addition to health care investments, Denmark is an important hub for UN procurement. From the procurement point of view, the most important organisations in Copenhagen are the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
• The next UN Nordic Procurement Seminar will be organised in Copenhagen on 12–13 November 2018.
• Business Finland in Denmark: Terhi Rasmussen, Senior Advisor, +45 20 549 894, [email protected]

Caption: The hospital shown in the illustration will be built in Hillerød in North Zealand. Image: © Herzog & de Meuron – Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter