The quality of surgical procedures and patient safety can be assessed by measuring the frequency of patient injuries related to surgeries in relation to the number of surgeries performed. A registry study conducted in Finland concluded that the trend of patient injuries related to surgical procedures had decreased over the course of five years. Patient injuries were compensated for every two thousand surgeries performed in the years 2011-2015. However, during the study period, the incidence decreased from 2.5 to 1.9 per 1000 operations.
The study aimed to identify the surgical procedures in which the patients suffered the most injuries in relation to the number of surgeries performed. The researchers analyzed the compensation data of the Patient Insurance Agency (PVK), which covers all medical error reports in Finland. The researchers compared claims data with surgical data obtained from a peer-reviewed database of surgical procedures.
Annually, PVK receives approximately 8,000-9,000 compensation applications, of which almost a third lead to a positive compensation decision. Surgical procedures account for approximately 40-45% of all medical malpractice claims. PVK received almost 9,000 compensation claims related to surgeries performed between 2011 and 2015. At the same time, almost 1.5 million surgeries were performed. Claims related to surgeries accounted for 0.61%, while reimbursed claims accounted for 0.22% of all surgeries.
The frequency of patient injuries varies depending on the type of surgery. Some surgeries are performed only rarely, while others are performed tens of thousands of times a year. C-sections, tonsillectomy, adenoidectomies and cataract surgeries are the most common procedures. However, claims related to these procedures are relatively rare.
For surgeries involving a large number of procedures (more than 20,000 surgeries during the study period), a reimbursement rate of 1% is considered high. In Finland, not a single operation could be found with a reimbursement rate exceeding one percent. This shows that surgical procedures in Finland have a high level of safety and low patient harm.
According to Annika Takala, an expert in medical devices at Helsinki University Hospital, the results of the study may be partially due to the implementation of the WHO surgical safety checklist in Finnish surgical procedures. The checklist was implemented between 2009 and 2011, and its goal was to standardize surgical procedures to improve patient safety.
In summary, it can be stated that the Finnish registry study has shown a reduction in patient injuries related to surgical procedures. The report provides valuable information on the quality of surgical procedures and patient safety. The results of the study show that the safety level of surgical procedures in Finland is high and patient injuries are low, and the implementation of the WHO surgical safety checklist may have contributed to this development.
HT
Source: The Nordic Page