Compensated Patient Injury Cases Due to Medication Errors in Finland During 2021 to 2023: A Cross-Sectional Register-Based Study.

OBJECTIVES

To analyze follow-up data on medication errors (ME) in compensated patient claims in Finland from 2021 to 2023 and to discuss whether medication safety has improved since 2013 to 2014.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional retrospective register-based study analyzing the case files of the Finnish Patient Insurance Centre (PIC) involving compensated patient injuries due to MEs. A descriptive quantitative analysis and a qualitative content analysis were conducted.

RESULTS

During the 3-year period, 1363 ME claims were filed, of which 262 (19%) were compensated. Most patients were female (n=156, 60%) and 60 to 69 years old (n=48, 18%). Errors occurred most during prescribing (n=164, 63%), monitoring (n=34, 13%), and administration phases (n=29, 11%). The most frequent types of errors were omission (n=49, 19%), incorrect diagnosis (n=33, 13%), and incorrect dosage (n=30, 11%). High-alert medications were involved in 104 (40%) cases. Severe harm was caused in 96 cases (37%) and death in 18 cases (7%). There was a significant association between high-alert medications and severe patient outcomes (χ2=26.6, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with the years 2013 to 2014, both the severity and the average annual number of compensated medication-related injuries have decreased. However, prescribing and monitoring remain the most error-prone phases of the medication process.