For new students
Are you starting your studies? As a new degree student in higher education you are welcome to use our services at the FSHS. We are here to support your health and well-being throughout your studies.
We provide primary-level general and mental health services, oral health services and look after well-being in student communities nationwide.
On this page, we have collected useful information about using our services.
Page content
- Register as present for the semester
- When you want to contact us
- Local services across Finland
- Familiarise yourself with our YTHSDigi service
- Get to know digital paths in YTHSDigi
- Pay the healthcare fee to Kela
- Reschedule or cancel your appointment in time
- You will be able to answer the HealthStart questionnaire within your first academic year
- Familiarise yourself with our group activities
- Join our student events
- Follow news on our website and our social media channels
- Services and instructions for students in specific fields
- Watch our video presentation
Register as present for the semester
You can use our services if you’re studying towards a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a higher education institution in Finland and you have registered as an attending student for the semester. The right to use services is valid according to each attended semester and it starts earliest on the first day of each semester. The autumn semester runs from 1 August to 31 December and the spring semester from 1 January to 31 July.
Please note that the information regarding your enrollment will be transferred to us from your higher education institution with a delay of approximately 1-3 days.
International exchange students not completing a degree at a Finnish higher education institution are not entitled to use FSHS services.
Read more about who can use FSHS services
When you want to contact us
When you need us, you can call one of our nationwide service numbers or contact us via YTHSDigi by using its chat feature.
A healthcare professional will contact you to assess your need for treatment and its level of urgency. Depending on your needs, you may be referred to either our remote or local services.
Please note that due to data protection we cannot answer treatment-related questions by e-mail or via social media channels.
We will inform you about possible exceptions in service times or disruptions in our service lines on our website.
Local services across Finland
Our local services are available in nearly all study towns nationwide. We provide services at either our own service units or via a partner unit.
Your primary service unit is the one in the town where you’re studying. Service units operated by partners are only for students studying in these towns.
Appointments for all FSHS services and partners’ service units are always made at the FSHS through our assessment of the need for treatment.
Familiarise yourself with our YTHSDigi service
As a higher education student, the easiest way you can take care of issues related to your health with us is using our digital service, YTHSDigi. Start using YTHSDigi as soon as you begin your studies!
In YTHSDigi you can, for example, manage your appointment bookings, message FSHS professionals about your care and access self-care material on digital paths. You can also use YTHSDigi to access video appointments.
Pay the healthcare fee to Kela
The healthcare fee for students in higher education that students pay to Kela covers all FSHS services. We at the FSHS do not charge fees for appointments or our other services (except a fee for unattented appointments that you haven’t cancelled in time). Please note, however, that if you are referred from FSHS to a specialist doctor / specialized healthcare / services in your wellbeing services county, the service provider has the right to charge a visit fee according to its own price list.
The health care fee must be paid to Kela unprompted
You must pay the health care fee to Kela for each semester unprompted. Kela does not send a bill for the fee. The fee can be paid in OmaKela. Any more specific questions about the healthcare fee should always be addressed directly to Kela, which is the authority responsible for collecting the fee.
If your social security is covered by another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland
If your social security is covered by another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland (instead of Finland), you may not have to pay the healthcare fee. In this case, be prepared to show a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) when you use FSHS services. You need to present the card before each remote appointment or local appointment. Please check instructions for presenting your card on our website. Also deliver a copy of the card to Kela according to Kela’s own instructions.
- Always check out Kela’s website for more detailed information about the healthcare fee (kela.fi)
- Tip: Also check out Higher Education section of the Kela website (kela.fi)
Reschedule or cancel your appointment in time
If you cannot make it to your appointment, please remember to reschedule or cancel it no later than 24 hours prior to the appointment in YTHSDigi or by calling our phone service. This way you avoid paying the fee for unattended appointments.
The fee for unattended appointments concerns all appointments and examinations, both at FSHS´s own service units and our partner service units. This also applies to, for example, remote appointments, laboratory visits, vaccination appointments and group meetings.
- Check the instructions for rescheduling or canceling an appointment
- The fee for unattended appointment
You will be able to answer the HealthStart questionnaire within your first academic year
The health examination for first-year students begins with the HealthStart questionnaire in our online service. After completing the questionnaire you’ll receive feedback on the state of your health. If necessary, based on your answers, you will be referred for an in-person or remote consultation. You may also get useful health promotion tips.
If you have begun studiyng towards your first degree at a higher education institution, the HealthStart questionnaire will appear in the online service within your first academic year. If you update your contact information in the service immediately after the semester has started, you will get a personal invitation to complete HealthStart by SMS. We will also inform you on our news channels when the questionnaire is available to you.
Familiarise yourself with our group activities
During the semesters, we arrange various preventive and treatment groups, both remotely and at our service units. In a group you can get support for your health and life management.
You can discuss attending a group with your nurse or doctor. For some groups you can register yourself.
Most of the groups are held in Finnish, but there are also plans for some individual groups held in Swedish or English.
Join our student events
We carry out study community work together with students, institutions of higher education and student associations. You’ll meet us at various student events online and on campuses during the academic year.
- Event calendar
- Read more about the study community work
- At some point during your studies, you may also be interested in these:
Get to know digital paths in YTHSDigi
The YTHSDigi digital paths provide information and support for many questions related to your health. You can access the material provided on our open digital paths whenever you like and read through it at your own pace. The topics of digital paths open to all users include concentration, temporomandibular disorders and contraception.
Follow news on our website and our social media channels
We regurlarly publish news and information bulletins with current information at yths.fi/en/news. Start also following us on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Services and instructions for students in specific fields
We have published an additional guide for social and health care students and salmonella guidance for students in veterinary medicine or in practical training in the food industry.
- Read the guide for social and health care students
- Read the salmonella guidance for veterinary medicine students and for students training in the food industry
Watch our video presentation
You can enlarge the viewing area to full screen, turn on English subtitles in the settings, and change the video playback settings. Watching the embedded video on our website requires you to have accepted all cookies on our website. You can find the alternative descriptive script for the video by clicking the accordion box below the video.
The video can also be viewed directly on our YouTube channel (youtube.com).
Alt text for the video (click to open)
(FSHS’s services)
[Scene] A student character (1) walks down outdoor stairs, continues along the street, and enters a campus building.
[Voice-over] I received the right to use FSHS’s services when I started studying at a higher education institution. I found out that FSHS provides students with general and mental health services, as well as oral health services, and that gave me a sense of security right from the start.
[Scene] The student character 1 walks toward a table where another student character (2) is sitting with a laptop. They greet each other and the student character 1 joins the same table.
[Voice-over] FSHS also takes care of the well-being of study communities and engages in health promotion at higher education institutions.
[Scene] The student character 1 takes out their own laptop. The two students chat cheerfully. Then the student character 1 starts typing on their laptop.
(FSHS’s digital service)
[Voice-over] The first step in accessing the services was to start using FSHS’s digital service. I manage almost all my health-related matters with it. I check my booked appointments, reschedule if necessary, update my contact information, and access remote appointments. The digital service has become an essential tool for me.
(The HealthStart questionnaire for first-year students)
[Scene] Next, the student character 1 walks by the seaside in workout clothes, holding a phone.
[Voice-over] At the beginning of my studies, I completed the HealthStart questionnaire via the FSHS digital service. After responding to it, I received feedback on my health status.
[Scene] The student character 1 is jogging by the sea.
[Voice-over] It was a nice way to pause and reflect on my well-being right from the start. If my responses had indicated a need to see an FSHS professional, I would have been directed to a remote or in-person appointment.
[Scene] The student character 1 stops by the shore.
[Voice-over] This time, I only needed some digital health promotion tips.
[Scene] The student character 1 turns to the camera and smiles happily.
(How to contact FSHS)
[Voice-over] All of this helped me take the first step in monitoring my own health during my studies.
[Scene] At home, the student character 2 places a teapot on the table and sits down.
[Voice-over] When I first needed to contact FSHS, I wondered if I should call them. However, I decided to use a service form in the FSHS digital service. There were other options too, like chat or phone.
[Scene] The video shows a public health nurse sitting at a computer with a headset.
[Voice-over] The need for treatment assessment team always reviews my situation to determine how urgent it is. When necessary, I’ve been referred to remote or in-person services, or given self-care instructions.
[Scene] While the voice-over continues, the scene shifts to an FSHS service unit hallway where a doctor approaches the student character 2. Then they are in a consultation room, sitting and talking.
[Voice-over] I’ve felt like they have listened to me.
(Groups and student events)
[Scene] Next, the student character 2 sits on a sofa at home with a laptop and says:
[Voice-over] During my studies, I’ve noticed that FSHS offers students much more than just appointments. For example, I’ve participated in groups where I received peer support and tips for everyday life. I joined a remote group because it fit my schedule better than an in-person one.
[Scene] As the voice-over continues, the screen shows the student character 2’s laptop with a remote group meeting in progress. Several participants are visible.
[Scene] Then the student character 2 meets the public health nurse in a hallway. An FSHS roll-up is visible in the background.
[Voice-over] I’ve also attended various FSHS health promotion webinars and run into FSHS staff at student events on campus.
[Scene] The student character 1 joins the conversation with the nurse and the student character 2.
[Voice-over] All of this has made me feel FSHS is more than just healthcare. It’s involved in our daily life.
[Scene] The student character 2 smiles at the camera. Final text on the screen: “Explore the page for new students: yths.fi/welcome”