{"id":176285,"date":"2025-05-19T13:16:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T10:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/?p=176285"},"modified":"2025-05-19T19:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T16:07:34","slug":"a-unique-collaboration-between-north-estonia-medical-centre-and-siffi-supports-the-mental-health-of-healthcare-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/a-unique-collaboration-between-north-estonia-medical-centre-and-siffi-supports-the-mental-health-of-healthcare-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"A unique collaboration between North Estonia Medical Centre and Siffi supports the mental health of healthcare workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A collaboration between Siffi and North Estonia Medical Centre (NEMC) \u2013 both members of the Tehnopol HealthTech community \u2013 is enabling healthcare professionals to easily assess their mental well-being and quickly access support when needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthcare work involves numerous psychosocial risk factors, making comprehensive support essential. According to Kristel Oha<\/strong>, Head of Occupational Health and Safety at NEMC, they have been working for years on mitigating psychosocial risks and creating a positive psychosocial work environment at the hospital. \u201cWe value our employees \u2014 they are our greatest asset, and their well-being is extremely important to us. Last year, we were awarded the Silver Label for Mental Health Friendly Workplaces, which reassures us that we are on the right path,\u201d said Oha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting employees\u2019 mental health is a continuous process, and needs evolve over time. That is why the North Estonia Medical Centre is constantly looking for new opportunities and convenient solutions to offer its staff \u2014 which led to the collaboration with Siffi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: North Estonia Medical Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Making\u00a0mental\u00a0health\u00a0monitoring\u00a0easier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The partnership began in 2022 through the Horizon Urban Tech project, led by Tehnopol. At an international hackathon, the North Estonia Medical Centre sought solutions to several challenges, including one focused on supporting and promoting employee mental health: \u201cMatching mental health problems with precise personalized support.\u201d An international jury selected Siffi, a platform developed by MinuDoc O\u00dc, as the most promising solution in this category. Siffi \u2013 \u201cA personalised dashboard for strengthening employee mental resilience\u201d \u2013 received funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The goal was to create a user-friendly platform enabling employees to assess and analyze their mental well-being and receive individually tailored tips and recommendations to improve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarmo Pihl,<\/strong> co-founder and CEO of Siffi, noted that several factors contributed to the collaboration\u2019s success \u2014 above all, the real challenge NEMC genuinely wanted to solve. \u201cAnother key success factor was strong cooperation. NEMC\u2019s expectations and requirements were well understood and effectively incorporated into the product,\u201d said Pihl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terje Peetso<\/strong>, Innovation Manager in the Medical Division at NEMC, agreed that the starting point must always be a well-defined problem. \u201cWe generally have a positive attitude toward new approaches and a willingness to try them. However, a key prerequisite is that we have identified the problem ourselves \u2014 not that we are trying to match a problem to an externally offered solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peetso emphasized that piloting isn\u2019t always necessary: \u201cIf an effective, evidence-based solution already exists, repeated testing may not be required. However, with many solutions, each user has their own specific context \u2014 starting points, capabilities, stakeholders involved, and budget. These factors may necessitate testing the solution within their own environment before full implementation. It\u2019s important that a pilot is not followed by another pilot. If the testing period was successful, the next step must be finding ways to implement the solution in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merilin Varsamaa<\/strong>, Head of Tehnopol\u2019s Health Technology Division, served as the key mentor supporting the collaboration between Siffi and the North Estonia Medical Centre within the Urban Tech innovation project. According to Varsamaa, the partnership between NEMC and Siffi presents a unique opportunity to implement evidence-based mental health practices specifically in the healthcare sector, helping to strengthen healthcare workers\u2019 emotional resilience and overall well-being. \u201cThis is strategically important not only for retaining and motivating staff but also for supporting the sustainability and growth capacity of the entire organisation,\u201d Varsamaa emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\u00a0platform\u00a0is\u00a0in\u00a0active\u00a0use<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The solution is now actively in use. According to the Head of Occupational Health and Safety at NEMC, the platform has been introduced to employees since April, and interest has been high from the very beginning. \u201cI believe we\u2019ve created a solution that genuinely fits the needs of our employees and the positive feedback confirms that,\u201d noted Kristel Oha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehnopol has also been using Siffi\u2019s digital well-being solution since 2023, and its impact has been noticeable \u2014 employees value it as a practical and personalized tool that helps prevent burnout, support mental balance and improve job satisfaction in a rapidly changing work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: North Estonia Medical Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Potential\u00a0to\u00a0expand\u00a0to\u00a0other\u00a0healthcare<\/strong> institutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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According to Tarmo Pihl, the collaboration with the North Estonia Medical Centre is a strategic step \u2014 not only to support the hospital\u2019s own staff, but also to serve as a model and benchmark for the entire Estonian healthcare sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe level of mental strain in the medical field is extremely high, and it won\u2019t disappear on its own,\u201d he stated. \u201cWe believe that offering structured psychological support should be a standard component of every hospital\u2019s internal support system \u2014 not an exception.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pihl noted that end-user needs are surprisingly similar \u2014 mental health support must be fast, simple, and reliable. However, the differences emerge in the implementation phase. \u201cIn larger organisations, you need to consider more complex IT and employee management systems, the need to integrate with HRIS platforms, and an entirely different approach to internal communication,\u201d the Siffi CEO explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out that, for example, in hospitals with hundreds of shift-based specialists, traditional onboarding workshops are not feasible \u2014 meaning that information sharing must be designed in a smarter and more flexible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: North Estonia Medical Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0power\u00a0of\u00a0HealthTech\u00a0Community<\/strong> support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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According to Terje Peetso, involving the Tehnopol HealthTech Community in collaborations like this is highly beneficial, as it allows stakeholders to better understand each other\u2019s needs, share experiences, and when needed pool expertise and resources. \u201cThe best solutions are born out of collaboration, and even failures become shared learning opportunities that make us collectively wiser and more experienced,\u201d she affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarmo Pihl added that the partnership initiative launched by Tehnopol between large-scale healthcare \u2018buyers\u2019 and startups was a key driving force behind the collaboration between Siffi and the North Estonia Medical Centre. \u201cIn large organisations, decision-making involves many considerations. But projects that allow for low-risk piloting and testing before full-scale implementation help lower those barriers significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked to advise other healthcare providers considering collaboration with startups, Peetso encouraged them to broaden their perspective: \u201cThere may already be a solution to your problem out there. Let\u2019s stay open-minded \u2014 day-to-day work often becomes safely routine, and we might not notice that something could be done differently. But an outside perspective can see what we might overlook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also stressed the importance of involving end users from the very beginning when piloting or implementing a new solution: \u201cTraining, feedback, iterative improvement, and motivation \u2014 these are keywords we must not forget. I really like the interpretation of the KPI acronym: Keep People Interested.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pihl emphasized that the most important factor is maintaining focus: \u201cPublic sector partnerships can be appealing, but they often require a lot of time and involve long decision-making cycles,\u201d he explained.
\u201cI recommend first focusing on segments where you can quickly validate your service and demonstrate tangible impact. Once you have clear results and a working model, it becomes much easier and more strategic to take steps toward public sector engagement. Be prepared for the long game \u2014 patience and persistence are key to generating real value from such collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A collaboration between Siffi and North Estonia Medical Centre (NEMC) \u2013 both members of the Tehnopol HealthTech community \u2013 is enabling healthcare professionals to easily assess their mental well-being and quickly access support when needed. Healthcare work involves numerous psychosocial risk factors, making comprehensive support essential. According to Kristel Oha, Head of Occupational Health and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":176272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-technologies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176359,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176285\/revisions\/176359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}