The extension of the care guarantee slowed access to primary health care in 2025
In 2025, access to non-urgent care within two weeks was poorer than in 2024. Access to care also deteriorated among those under 23 years of age in 2025, although they were still required to receive care within 14 days.
In 2025, the maximum waiting times for access to care were extended for patients aged 23 and over, while they remained unchanged for younger patients.
The maximum waiting time of three months for patients aged 23 and over was met better than the maximum waiting time of 14 days for those aged 0–22.
Almost all (99–100%) first visits or remote contacts with a doctor or a nurse were realised within three months. The situation was the same in 2024.
In outpatient health care, first visits were realised well within the maximum waiting times (95–99%), as access to care provided by nurses was rapid. Most visits were to nurses. Care was delivered more quickly via remote services.
See the most recent data
Monthly updated situational overview: Access to non-urgent treatment in primary health care
Monthly updated situational overview: Access to treatment in oral health care
The verified data are published once a year in a statistical report, which is also the basis of the data on this page.
In particular, access to a doctor within two weeks worsened
Among those aged 0–22, 56 % of doctor’s visits were realised within two weeks in 2025. In 2024, the proportion was 74 %, indicating that access to care deteriorated. However, access to a doctor in outpatient health care deteriorated only slightly.
Access to a doctor in primary health care also worsened among those aged 23 and over. Of their doctor’s visits, 59% were realised within two weeks in 2025 compared with 70% in 2024. The change was explained by the extension of the care guarantee, meaning that care was only required to be provided within three months.
The situation in oral health care remained stable
Access to care in oral health care did not slow down significantly in 2025, even though the maximum waiting time for access to care for patients aged 23 and over was extended from three months to six months.
The maximum waiting time for access to care in oral health care was met less well among those aged 0–22 than among patients aged 23 and over.
There were shortcomings in both the amount and quality of data on access to care
More data on access to care than ever before were obtained in the Avohilmo register, but there were also deficiencies and quality issues in the data produced by the wellbeing services counties. These problems weaken the comparability of access-to-care data with previous years and between regions.
In some regions, almost all non-urgent visits had been recorded as related to access to care. As a result, the data from these regions incorrectly included visits that should not be part of access-to-care monitoring, such as preventive services or visits in accordance with a care plan. The problem concerns wellbeing services counties using a specific patient information system and particularly affects data on persons under 23 years of age.
In a few wellbeing services counties, the overall amount of access-to-care data was very low.
Deficiencies were particularly observed in data on patients’ contact with services and follow-up visits, as well as in certain services. For example, access-to-care data for mental health services and substance abuse and addiction services were missing from many wellbeing services counties.
The patient information system, professionals’ recording practices, and the submission of data to the register affected both the amount and quality of the data. Wellbeing services counties are responsible for the correctness and completeness of data on both their own services and purchased services.
However, the identified quality issues do not affect the key finding of the statistics that access to primary health care has deteriorated.
About the data in more detail
- Annual situational overview: Access to primary health care in 2025
- Statistical report and survey results: Access to primary health care in 2025 (Julkari)
Database reports
The data in the database reports on access to treatment are reported for those non-urgent outpatient treatment events whose data have been submitted to the Avohilmo register. The numbers have mainly not been verified, meaning that the review of numbers carried out by experts is not included.
The database reports can be used to view data on access to treatment, for example, by operating unit, service form or professional group. A legislative filter is available for some of the database reports on access to treatment, which allows you to view the data based on the maximum time limit set in the Health Care Act valid at a given time.
Report types
- The summary view reports contain data on the realisation of all the maximum time limits, as well as the quantity and quality of the data received.
- The database report is a predefined summary of data indicating how the maximum time limit has been realised. Service providers may publish data on the realisation of maximum time limits on their own organisation’s website by providing a link to the database report. Service providers have a duty under the Health Care Act to publish data on access to treatment compiled by THL.
- A data cube is a table of data that shows how a given maximum time limit has been realised. Compared to the database report, users can apply a more versatile set of filters to the cube data.
- A statistical report is an annual summary of the key data on outpatient care in primary health care and the data quality, presented as text, images and tables.
Instructions on using the reports
From 1 January 2025
- People aged under 23 years: the maximum time limit is 14 days from the date when the need was established. If the reason for seeking care is falling ill, an injury, worsening of a chronic illness, emergence of new symptoms or a decline in functional capacity, and the care falls under general practice.
- People aged 23 years or over: the maximum time limit was 3 months from the date when the need was established.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2024, the maximum time limit was 14 days, and until 31 August 2023, 3 months.
Database reports
Data cube
Patients were entitled to gain access to follow-up treatment by a doctor after the first treatment event related to access to treatment, which was realised by a licensed health care professional other than a doctor.
From 1 January 2025
- People aged under 23 years: within seven days of the date when the need was established.
- People aged 23 years or over: within three months of the original assessment of the need for examination or treatment.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2024, the maximum time limit was 7 days from the date when the need was established for all age groups.
Database reports
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a doctor in primary health care per age group
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a doctor in primary health care
Data cubes
From 1 January 2025, other first treatment events for people aged under 23 years must be realised within three months of the date when the need was established.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2024, the maximum time limit was three months for all age groups.
Database report
Data cube
From 1 January 2025
- People aged under 23 years: treatment or examination must be provided within three months of the date when the need was established.
- People aged 23 years or over: treatment or examination must be provided within six months of the date when the need was established.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2024, the maximum time limit was 4 months from the date when the need was established (three months from 1 November to 31 December 2024).
Until 31 August 2023: the maximum time limit was 6 months from the date when the need was established.
Database reports
- Realisation of the first treatment event in oral health care by age group
- Realisation of the first treatment event in oral health care
Data cubes
Based on an assessment of the need for treatment, the patient was first referred to an oral health care professional other than a dentist, and the professional assessed that there was a need for further dental examination or treatment by a dentist.
From 1 January 2025
- People aged under 23 years: within four weeks of the date when the need for service was established or within three months from the patient’s initial contact and assessment of the need for treatment.
- People aged 23 years or over: within six months of the original assessment of the need for examination or treatment.
- People of all ages: if a periodic oral health examination provided as part of maternity and child health clinic services or school and student health care is performed by an oral health care professional other than a dentist, and the professional assesses that there is a need for further dental examination or treatment by a dentist, access to a dentist must be arranged within four weeks of the date when the need for service was established.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2022
- The maximum time limit was within four weeks of the date when the need for service was established or within four months of the patient’s initial contact and assessment of the need for treatment. From 1 November 2024 to 31 December 2024, the maximum time limit was three months.
- If a periodic oral health examination provided as part of maternity and child health clinic services or school and student health care was performed by an oral health care professional other than a dentist, and the professional assessed that there is a need for further dental examination or treatment by a dentist, access to a dentist had to be arranged within four weeks of the date when the need was established.
Database reports
- Realisation of access to follow-up treatment by a dentist after the establishment of the need for further treatment
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a dentist after the assessment of the need for treatment before the first treatment event
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a dentist after a periodic oral health examination
Data cubes
- Realisation of access to follow-up treatment by a dentist after the establishment of the need for further treatment
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a dentist after the assessment of the need for treatment before the first treatment event
- Realisation of follow-up treatment by a dentist after a periodic oral health examination
From 1 January 2025
- People aged under 23 years: the maximum time limit is three months from the date when the need was established by a professional.
- People aged 23 years or over: the maximum time limit is six months from the date when the need was established by a professional.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2022, the maximum time limit was three months from the date when the need was established by a professional.
Database report
Data cube
Statistical report
Read the entire statistical report (Julkari) (in Finnish)
Reporting services
Background information
The quality report of the statistical report describes the missing data from the statistical year and assesses the data coverage and quality. Information about the most recent missing data is provided on the website.
- Quality reports on the statistics
- Avohilmo privacy policy (in Finnish)
- Privacy policy of the survey on access to treatment in primary health care (in Finnish)
- Description of data resource (Data Resources Catalogue)
- Instructions for submitting health care notification data (in Finnish)
Source
Access to primary health care services 2025
Statistical report 20/2026, 3 June 2026. THL.
Description of the statistics
The statistics contain data on the contacts made by patients and the realisation of non-urgent outpatient visits and remote contacts related to access to treatment in primary health care within the maximum time limits laid down in the Health Care Act.
Data on access to treatment in primary health care have been collected with a survey since 2005, and since 2014, the data have been submitted from patient records systems to the Avohilmo register. The data in the statistics are obtained from service providers, such as wellbeing services counties, and the obtained data are based on document entries made by health care professionals. Service providers are responsible for the quantity and accuracy of the data they submit.
The register data are supplemented with an annual survey on access to primary health care that concerns the data that are not yet reliably available from the Avohilmo register in accordance with the guide on health appointment notifications.
Update schedule
A statistical report on the realisation of access to treatment in the previous year is published each year, typically by the summer.
See the database reports for up-to-date information about the realisation of access to treatment. The data are updated from the Avohilmo register to the reports monthly, usually on the 15th day of the month.
Contact details
Persons responsible for the statistics: Tiina Marttila and Raimo Mahkonen.
Any enquiries should primarily be sent to the shared email address avohilmo(at)thl.fi.