Physicians come in for most of the scrutiny, and two issues in particular have risen to the top of the lists. Complaints are being made against doctors who do not maintain up-to-date patient files, and against the way some doctors prescribe narcotics.
Experts say that part of the dramatic rise can be attributed to a growing public awareness of medical issues and rights. Nonetheless, the Medicolegal Authority admits that declining resources and an increasingly rushed health care service is also to blame.
Recently, permanent secretary Raimo Sailas even spoke at a medical conference about a crisis in health care. He said that health care expenses were spiralling out of control compared to what it was able to provide.
This attitude has been dismissed by hospital directors around the country. In an interview with the paper Taloussanomat, the director of the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Kari Nenonen, said that the public can be amply taken care of if the health care system institutes reforms to make itself more effective.
The hospital director of Northern Karelia, Pertti Palomäki, insisted that just because costs have been rising doesn't mean they are unrealistic.