Presenting Kuopio Health members: ESiOR is focused on effective data
“I am dreaming of an environment for innovation in which we have a very strong brand and image. Kuopio’s reputation in the field of health should be promoted to a level that matches Kone’s reputation as a lift manufacturer.”
ESiOR is focused on effective data
Expert Solutions in Outcomes Research Oy, known by its acronym ESiOR, is a company operating in three industries in the social welfare and healthcare sector.
The company’s original focus was on social and health economics and outcomes research and this work continues today. The company has more recently expanded to evidence generation services. ESiOR helps its customers—and its customers’ customers—by providing data originating from various sources to support decision-making. The services enable generating better outcomes and cost-effectiveness, i.e. better returns to used resources.
The company also provides the medical and device industry with market access services, which involves tasks such as preparing applications for reimbursement status to the Pharmaceuticals Pricing Board and producing marketing content.
The company was established in 2006 and currently employs 16 people. The company’s Managing Partner Erkki Soini explains that the employees’ backgrounds range from a mathematician to an English teacher.
“What we all have in common is that we all like to work with data and numbers and explain outcome-related issues to others. This is such a challenging industry that you have to feel passionate about it. No one is ready at the point when they join our company. It can easily take a year or two for you to get on track. It is amazing to get to see that growth”, Soini explains.
He is excited about a student event organised by Kuopio Health in the spring.
“It’s great that companies get to present their activities to potential future employees. These events enable us to utilise the fresh set of ideas of students, many of whom pose such questions and great innovations that you wouldn’t even think about”, Soini says.
More than a network
ESiOR was part of the “second wave” of companies joining the open Kuopio Health innovation ecosystem. Nevertheless, Erkki Soini says that he has been following the ecosystem activities right from the get go.
“I noticed that there were some of my acquaintances and other great people involved in the ecosystem. Our initial aim was to find networks, but we ended up getting something more: collaborating and getting to share our worries and concerns with others has been a major part of the membership.
Ever since last summer, Soini has also been involved in the Kuopio Health board. He believes that ESiOR has particularly provided the ecosystem with outcome modelling, referring to the company’s expertise and vision in anticipation. Health economics is one of the company’s special areas of competence.
Driver for health data
Erkki Soini also chairs Kuopio Health’s 50-person data working group. He explains that the aim of the data working group is to organise a massive congress on health data in Kuopio in a few years. The most burning questions are concerned with how to obtain high-quality data effectively and how to tailor this data.
The event is part of an ambitious plan to become the driver for health data in Finland.
“I am dreaming of an environment for innovation in which we have a very strong brand and image. Kuopio’s reputation in the field of health should be promoted to a level that matches Kone’s reputation as a lift manufacturer.”
He reminds us that if we fail to set our goal high, we will stay low. We all aim at creating as much wellbeing as possible.
According to Soini, this will require both health data as well as wellbeing data that is as extensive as possible.
“We cannot draw up watertight future projections based on health data alone. We also need data on behaviour, such as nutrition, medication or physical activity, to form a comprehensive view on the matter.