Medication errors cost Finland at least €15.5 million annually

A recent study has revealed that medication errors in Finland cost the healthcare system at least €15.5 million each year. The research, conducted by a team from the Pohjois-Savo wellbeing services county, found that reported medication errors in the region alone cost €686,000 in 2023. When extrapolated nationally, this figure rises to €15.5 million annually.

However, Dr. Jonna-Carita Kanninen, a pharmacy doctor and the study’s lead researcher, estimates that the actual costs are significantly higher. She notes that only about one-tenth of medication errors are reported, suggesting that the true cost could be as high as €150 million per year in Finland.

The most common medication errors involve patients receiving the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, or no medication at all. These errors primarily occur during the administration of medication to patients. Other frequent errors include distribution and recording mistakes.

Kanninen attributes these errors not to negligence but to a lack of standardized procedures. She emphasizes that addressing these errors is not just a patient safety issue but also a significant resource concern. Each medication error costs an average of €138, primarily due to additional work for nurses and doctors, diverting them from direct patient care.

The study found that handling a single medication error takes healthcare staff an average of nearly one and a half hours. Nurses were involved in investigating 75% of the cases. The most expensive individual cases, costing up to €4,486 each, were related to ward care and endoscopic procedures.

To reduce medication errors, Kanninen suggests implementing standardized procedures, clear medication processes, and automated medication distribution. She also advocates for a culture of reporting and learning from errors without fear of repercussions, which could lead to significant savings for the wellbeing services county.

Source: Yle