The country spends more than 10 percent of its healthcare funds on addressing patient injuries.
Some 13 percent of healthcare costs are directed towards rectifying patient injuries and addressing deficiencies in patient safety, according to the Finnish Centre for Client and Patient Safety.
Bedsores, falls, treatment-related infections and procedure complications are all typical patient injuries.
“Another injury is when an illness worsens due to diagnosis or treatment delays,” said Tuija Ikonen, who heads the Finnish Centre for Client and Patient Safety.
“A patient injury occurs when an experienced professional could have prevented it by acting differently. It’s not just about making an active mistake an injury can result from inadequate actions or neglecting the right course of action,” she explained.
Last year, a total of 7,225 individuals in Finland filed damage reports. These reports pertained to 9,241 different treatment locations or medical events.
The authorities granted damages in 1,921 instances, representing nearly 23 percent of the resolved cases.
The Finnish Centre for Client and Patient Safety is meanwhile trying to develop methods to improve patient safety in Finland, as some experts in the field have said they believe patient injuries could be halved.
Finland has said it wants to become a model country for patient safety by 2026.
Source: yle