Prevention of patient injuries: the Finnish patient insurance scheme

Injuries sustained by patients in connection with health care or medical treatment in Finland are compensated for as provided in the Patient Injuries Act, which came into force on 1 May 1987. Between 1987 and 2003, a total of 95,411 claims were made to the Finnish Patient Insurance Centre, the body in charge of the claims handling. Every third claim qualified as a patient injury. In my presentation I will focus on examining how the 17 years' claims statistics are used for the prevention of patient injuries and for the improvement of health care quality control. While the Finnish Patient Insurance Centre considers injury prevention as an important issue, the significance of this work has also been widely discussed in public. Injury prevention is a common cause and a goal sought by all providers of health care and medical treatment. This preventive work is clearly linked to the development and management of the policyholders' quality control systems. Successful prevention work requires the creation of feedback systems, cooperation networks and increased interaction to ensure that all parties will be able to participate and commit themselves to the targets. The Finnish Patient Insurance Centre has upgraded information services and increased training e.g. by launching a wide training programme tailored to individual policyholders. By using the experience gained over the years, patient injuries can be prevented. This in turn reduces human suffering and results in increased patient satisfaction in the long run. Taking up issues in the workplace with an open and thorough approach also helps foster a positive workplace climate. From an economical point of view, insurance premiums are thus kept under better control, because premiums charged on public sector policies are fully experience-rated.