Dissertation submitted by the Master of Health Sciences Tarja Tarkiainen To the Faculty of Medicine of the Graduate School of the University of Oulu, investigated the adverse events, adverse events and near misses that occurred in the medical imaging units and their underlying causes. One dataset used in the study was the patient injury reports received by the Patient Insurance Center. The study provided information on the frequency of imaging-related adverse events and the risks associated with them, as well as the possibilities to prevent them.
“Adverse events related to imaging could be prevented by requesting follow-up examinations in unclear cases. The radiologist may suggest a computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging study to complement the difficult-to-interpret ultrasound findings. In addition, the systematic examination of radiological images with different actors strengthens expertise and reduces incorrect interpretations, says Tarja Tarkiainen.
Most imaging-related patient injury reports were made in mammography, X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging. Most of the reports were related to delayed or incorrect diagnosis.
“The most common reason behind patient injury reports made in basic X-ray examinations was a fracture that had gone unnoticed. It is worth paying attention to this, especially during emergency hours, when most of these examinations are carried out, says Tarkiainen.
The equipment used in imaging can cause various adverse events for the patient. In addition to the radiation emitted by X-ray equipment and the attraction of magnetic equipment, possible causes of adverse events are complex equipment technology and limited expertise in using the equipment.
Not all diseases can always be cured, and no effective treatment is available for all diseases. Healthcare and medical care involve risks that cannot always be avoided, even if the nursing staff acts according to the best possible professional skill and knowledge. Such cases are not patient injuries.
In the material related to the dissertation, about 30 percent of imaging-related accident reports made by patients resulted in compensation, and in most cases the reason was a delay in the image, incorrect or incomplete interpretation, or carelessness related to treatment. The patient insurance covers bodily injuries that occurred in connection with healthcare and medical treatment that meet the criteria of the Patient Insurance Act. Compensation is paid, for example, for situations where an experienced healthcare professional would have avoided harm by acting differently in that situation.
According to the dissertation, relatively fewer patient injury reports were made for examinations that are performed less often, such as blood vessel examinations or procedural radiology. According to Tarkiainen, this may be due to the fact that the risks associated with the examinations in question are explained to the patients more precisely than the risks associated with more common imaging examinations. The background of many patient injury reports is uncertainty about issues related to illness, injury or treatment, which can best be resolved by talking to healthcare professionals.
“From the data, it could be concluded that the diagnosis – i.e. whether it is a malignant or benign disease and whether it is worth treating the disease or whether mere monitoring is enough – remained unclear to the patients. Both the diagnosis and the subsequent follow-up procedures should be better explained to the patients”, recommends Tarkiainen.
Patients can submit a patient injury report to the Patient Insurance Center, which processes and resolves all patient injury reports regarding medical care and health care provided in Finland. Processing is free of charge and is carried out impartially and separately from the processing process.
HT
Source: Patient Insurance Center
Source: The Nordic Page