Investments in diagnostics, cancer treatment and services – Docrates Cancer Center published its 2023 annual review

CEO Ilpo Tolonen comments on the results for 2023:

“We are decisively advancing our strategy by providing individualised, innovative and timely world-class cancer diagnostics and treatment to customers who pay for the service themselves or via insurance. We enhanced our services by investing in our facilities, providing new services and advanced customer experiences for our customers.

New diagnostic methods for molecular tumour profiling enable individual treatment planning and help to discover new treatment options for cancers. The number of cancer cases is increasing, but with better cancer diagnostic methods and new treatments, more and more people will live with cancer and cancer will be treated as a chronic disease to an increasing extent in the future.

Our net profit for the year was EUR 2.2 million and our revenue increased. Our equity ratio improved, despite major investments in developing our services for our customers. The Radiation Care business continued its significant growth, growing 11% year-on-year and Imaging and radiopharmacy business grew 10% year-on-year.

In 2023, Docrates received 1,600 new patients, and the number of appointments totalled 19,000. Of the new customers, 84 percent were Finnish, and two thirds paid for their treatments themselves. The number of private health insurance contracts is increasing, and the treatment was paid by an insurance company in the case of one in three Finnish patients. Foreign patients accounted for 30% of the revenue, of which about half were Swedish patients. Norwegian patients accounted for 7% of the revenue.

I would like to thank all employees for their great efforts throughout the year. We are recruiting new talent, and all our staff have expanded their expertise and learned new things about new diagnostic methods and treatments. Every day, we provide the best possible service and customer experience for our customers. Our goal is to be one step ahead of cancer, providing individual cancer care.”

Examinations

Docrates invested in research during the year, and its pharmaceutical examination business grew by 35 percent. During the year, we had seven (2022: 9) clinical cancer studies in progress, involving patients from several different tumour subgroups. Docrates was one of the first hospitals in the world to introduce a new test method for residual disease known as fluid biopsy, which can be used to monitor the disease load of the cancer without radiation exposure and potentially detect cancer recurrence before metastases would appear in conventional computer slices.

Tuomo Alanko, Doctor of Medicine, Chief Physician, Medical Oncology, Specialist in Medical Oncology M.D., Ph.D at Docrates, was nominated as the researcher of the year 2023 at the Clinical Trials Forum. The forum is organised by Pharmaca.

Product development and new services

Docrates is constantly developing new services for its customers. In 2023, the cancer center focused on developing service pathways for the early detection of cancer and for cancer follow-up. As part of its development activities, Docrates launched an endoscopy and pathology laboratory project. By establishing its own pathology laboratory, Docrates wants to improve the availability and of molecular profiling tests for tumours and make the treatment pathway faster.

The company made investment decisions for the development of endoscopy operations and pathology in early 2023. The major extension of the hospital facilities was completed during the year. The new facilities house the centralised diagnostics services, such as endoscopy and pathology.

Improving customer experience

The development of digital services is one of our strategic focus areas. During the year, Docrates developed the digital service path for international customers by introducing the service platform MyDocrates, which facilitates service use and document management. We streamlined the digital customer communications across all customer segments by implementing an account management system.

Personnel and sustainability

The number of personnel at Docrates increased by 11.5% in 2023. Overall turnover was low, at 8% (2022: 18). Employee satisfaction reached a record high. The People Power Index of our personnel survey increased by more than four units, to 83.0 (2022: 78.3). Docrates achieved the highest AAA rating and was chosen as one of Finland’s most inspiring workplaces for the 6th time.

Patient safety and occupational safety are central to Docrates’ sustainability and operations. Docrates uses safety observations in order to manage occupational health and safety and map out risks on a regular basis. The Cancer Center’s safety target is to ensure that its own operations do not cause harm to customers, the environment, personnel or property, or occupational accidents or unexpected delays in the provision of the services. The percentage of sickness absences was exceptionally low for the healthcare sector, at 3.39.

A hospital designed for cancer care must meet specific requirements concerning, for example, protection. The company continuously observes changes in its operating environment and facilities and wants to ensure that permits, building regulations and radiation safety are taken into account at the property and in the operations of the personnel. The company reviews its safety risks regularly and develops safety together with its partners.

For more information, please contact: 

Ilpo Tolonen, CEO, Docrates Cancer Center
tel. +358 50 500 1880, ilpo.tolonen@docrates.com

Docrates Cancer Center is an international hospital in Helsinki specialising in cancer treatment. We provide individual services for cancer patients throughout the treatment chain, from diagnostics to post-treatment follow-up. After diagnosis and imaging, treatment can be planned and initiated without delay. Our unique concept attracts patients from all over the world. We have treated patients from more than 60 different countries. Together with our network of leading clinical experts, we provide genuinely individual state-of-the-art cancer treatment services. Individual cancer care.