A technical glitch created thousands of false chronic illness diagnoses in Northern Ostrobothnia's healthcare system. The error made basic health center visits appear as serious specialist treatments in national statistics.
Health officials confirmed the technical fault this week. Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare recorded over 1,800 cases of chronic respiratory failure from the region in 2023. Helsinki, with a larger population, reported only 366 genuine cases.
Patient numbers showed unrealistic growth after 2021. The technical error caused primary care visits to register as specialist hospital treatments.
This matters because healthcare funding in Finland depends partly on regional illness rates. About 80% of welfare district financing bases itself on service needs. Those needs calculate from sickness data.
Earlier estimates suggested the error could affect funding by up to €10 million. Officials used calculation models from the health institute and finance ministry. Northern Ostrobothnia welfare district hasn't confirmed this figure.
Development director Jukka Jokinen said the district currently merges primary and specialist care systems. The technical fault made basic care data appear as serious specialist records.
In practice, nurses' routine entries registered as doctors' specialist diagnoses. Jokinen confirmed these weren't intentional mistakes.
The health institute and welfare district now correct the data. Jokinen wouldn't comment on whether fixes will affect funding. Finland's finance ministry makes final funding decisions.
The health institute also improves its overall data quality. Welfare districts previously couldn't properly verify their regional data. Jokinen said they're fixing this now.
New automated systems will detect abnormal data patterns. Improvements should arrive later this year.
The situation shows how technical errors can distort healthcare funding across Finland's welfare districts. Accurate data remains crucial for fair resource distribution.