Treatment and monitoring of long-term illnesses

Long-term illnesses are illnesses that take more than six months or sometimes a lifetime to monitor and treat. Self-care is important for these illnesses.

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Long-term illnesses are treated both in the specialised health care services of HUS and at health stations. Examples of long-term illnesses include asthma, cardiovascular diseases, connective tissue diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.  

How long-term illnesses are treated 

Many long-term illnesses are treated and monitored at health station. In some cases, specialised health care is also needed. For example, treatment for rheumatic diseases often starts at the HUS Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic. Once the situation is stable, follow-up measures can continue at your health station. 

Periodic check-ups 

Long-term illnesses are monitored with periodic check-ups if necessary. 

The follow-up appointments involve checking

  • your wellbeing
  • the status of your illness
  • the effectiveness of and your adherence to the treatment and medication.

If necessary, your treatment and medication will be changed according to your situation. 

Remember to adhere to your treatment plan 

It is important that you adhere to your own treatment plan.  

The health station does not send out invitations to periodic check-ups. You must book your own appointments at your health station for the check-ups and examinations that are included in your treatment plan.  

Your specialised health care provider may send out invitations to examinations or check-ups by post or Maisa message.  

How to contact your health centre or the services of HUS

If your long-term illness has been treated at HUS, you will have been told how to contact the unit responsible for your care.  

  • Contacting HUS by phone

    You can usually contact the units that treat different illnesses by telephone on weekdays. You can find the contact information and opening hours of the units on the HUS website. 

    Find the contact information of the unit responsible for your care on the HUS website 

  • Contacting HUS via Maisa

    If you have a care relationship with HUS, you can send messages to the professionals working at the unit via Maisa. These messages are intended for non-urgent matters concerning treatment or medication. 

    How to send a Maisa message: 

    1. Open the ‘Messages’ section.
    2. Select ‘Send new message’.
    3. Click ‘Send a message about care or services’.
    4. Select the subject of your message and your care provider at HUS as the recipient. 

    Go to Maisa 

    Logging in to Maisa requires strong identification (online bank credentials, mobile certificate, electronic ID card). People over the age of 10 can use Maisa with their own credentials.

    Please note! You can act on behalf of your child in Maisa. You can also act on behalf of an adult relative if the relative has authorised you to do so. Read more about acting on behalf of your child or relative at health stations

See how to contact your health station regarding non-urgent matters concerning your current treatment. 

  • Contacting your health station via Maisa

    If you have non-urgent questions about your current treatment, please contact your team at your health station by sending a message in the Maisa service. Our professionals process contact requests on weekdays from 8.00 to 16.00, and we will reply to your message within two weekdays. 

    How to send a Maisa message:

    1. Open the ‘Messages’ section.
    2. Select ‘Send new message’.
    3. Click ‘Send a message about care or services’.
    4. Select the subject of the message and your health station as the recipient. 

    Go to Maisa 

    Logging in to Maisa requires strong identification (online bank credentials, mobile certificate, electronic ID card). People over the age of 10 can use Maisa with their own credentials.

    Please note! You can act on behalf of your child in Maisa. You can also act on behalf of an adult relative if the relative has authorised you to do so. Read more about acting on behalf of your child or relative at health stations

  • Contacting your health station by phone

    Every health station has its own telephone number, which you can find on the health station’s website.

    Find your health station

    Telephone service hours:

    Mon–Thu 8.00–16.00

    Fri and the day before national holidays 8.00–15.00

    If the telephone service is congested, submit a callback request. We will aim to call you back within the same day. We may call you back Mon–Sun between 8.00 and 16.00.

    Please note! You can act on behalf of your child by phone. You can also act on behalf of an adult relative if you have been authorised to do so in writing. Read more about acting on behalf of your child or relative at health stations.

Your illness may require monitoring carried out by means such as various laboratory and imaging examinations. The examinations always require a referral issued by a professional.  

See how you can book an appointment for a laboratory or imaging examination

Agree with the health care professionals on how you will be contacted regarding the examination results. Your referral will be shown in Maisa.

The examination results will be available in the Maisa and MyKanta services. 

Go to Maisa

Go to MyKanta 

Public health nurses and nurses can administer medications injected under the skin or into a muscle.

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