Hospital costs increased and productivity declined in 2023
In 2023, service production in somatic specialised healthcare remained at the same level at all hospitals as in 2022. However, costs increased at all hospitals.
The decline in productivity was particularly influenced by the continued challenges related to the availability of personnel, the increased use of agency staff and purchased services, and the significant price increases in purchased services. Inflation continued to be markedly higher than in 2019–2021.
Productivity at university hospitals continues to decline
Productivity declined at all university hospitals in 2023, least at Kuopio University Hospital and most at Oulu University Hospital.
| Year | KYS | TAYS | TYKS | OYS | HUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 100,00 | 100,00 | 100,00 | 100,00 | 100,00 |
| 2020 | 98,33 | 97,71 | 97,53 | 96,75 | 93,31 |
| 2021 | 102,61 | 105,40 | 104,27 | 99,61 | 96,71 |
| 2022 | 102,72 | 99,45 | 97,27 | 94,77 | 88,51 |
| 2023 | 100,31 | 95,67 | 93,75 | 90,89 | 85,24 |
The most productive university hospitals in 2023 were Kuopio University Hospital and Tampere University Hospital.
Within university hospitals’ service production, the number of inpatient care periods continued to decrease, and the number of emergency visits also declined compared with 2022.
Productivity at central hospitals remained at the 2022 level
In 2023, productivity increased most at Mikkeli Central Hospital and declined most at Kymenlaakso Central Hospital compared with 2022.
The most productive central hospitals in 2023 were Satakunta Central Hospital and Central Ostrobothnia Central Hospital.
Within central hospitals’ service production as well, the number of inpatient care periods and emergency visits continued to decrease.
North Karelia has the lowest needs‑adjusted calculated costs per inhabitant
In 2023, the lowest needs-adjusted calculated costs were in the North Karelia wellbeing services county, 15 per cent below the average for all wellbeing services counties. At the same time, needs-adjusted service use in North Karelia was seven per cent below the average for all wellbeing services counties.
Needs adjustment takes into account regional differences in service needs and improves the comparability of healthcare and social welfare expenditure between regions.
About the data in more detail
Preliminary data 2024
The preliminary data contain data for 2024. Preliminary data in the producer and regional databases of the Hospital Productivity statistics were published on 23 July 2024.
In the producer databases, activity and productivity are examined by hospital.
In the regional databases, activity and productivity are examined by region, that is, based on the regional division according to the population’s municipality of residence. The regions examined are the wellbeing services county and the municipality.
The material in both the producer and regional databases can be examined for one year or as time series.
- In the cross-sectional data, activity and productivity data for the most recent year of the time series are examined. The indices have been calculated so that data for different hospital groups are compared with each other. The average for the hospital group is 100.
- In the time-series data, activity and productivity data over five years are examined. The indices have been calculated so that the development of a hospital’s own activity and productivity is compared with the base year of the time series. The first year of the time series is 100.
The material enables comparisons from different perspectives using similar indicators. To obtain an overall picture, it is appropriate to carry out assessments from both a producer and a regional perspective.
The data have been compiled into Excel files. Each file contains definitions of the data content of the material.
Producer databases: cross-sectional examination (data for one year)
Producer databases: cross-sectional examination (data for one year)
- Hospital productivity (in Finnish)
- Productivity database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Care period database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Episode database by specialty (in Finnish)
Producer databases: time-series examination (data for five years)
Regional databases: cross-sectional examination (data for one year)
- Regional episode database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Regional care period database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Regional specialty database at wellbeing services county level (in Finnish)
- Regional specialty database at municipal level (in Finnish)
- Needs-adjusted regional database at wellbeing services county level (in Finnish)
Regional databases: time-series examination (data for five years)
Producer and regional databases
Hospital benchmarking data are available for 2023.
In the producer databases, activity and productivity are examined by hospital.
In the regional databases, activity and productivity are examined by region, that is, based on the regional division according to the population’s municipality of residence. The regions examined are the wellbeing services county and the municipality.
The material in both the producer and regional databases can be examined for one year or as time series.
- In the cross-sectional data, activity and productivity data for the most recent year of the time series are examined. The indices have been calculated so that data for different hospital groups are compared with each other. The average for the hospital group is 100.
- In the time-series data, activity and productivity data over five years are examined. The indices have been calculated so that the development of a hospital’s own activity and productivity is compared with the base year of the time series. The index value for the first year of the time series is 100.
The material enables comparisons from different perspectives using similar indicators. To obtain an overall picture, it is appropriate to carry out assessments from both a producer and a regional perspective.
The data have been compiled into Excel files. Each file contains definitions of the data content of the material.
Producer databases: cross-sectional examination (data for one year)
- Hospital productivity (in Finnish)
- Productivity database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Care period database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Episode database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Psychiatry database (in Finnish)
Producer databases: time-series examination (data for five years)
Regional databases: cross-sectional examination (data for one year)
- Regional episode database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Regional care period database by specialty (in Finnish)
- Regional specialty database at wellbeing services county level (in Finnish)
- Regional specialty database at municipal level (in Finnish)
- Needs-adjusted regional database at municipal level (in Finnish)
- Needs-adjusted regional database at wellbeing services county level (in Finnish)
Regional databases: time-series examination (data for five years)
Background information
- Data resources catalogue (in Finnish)
- Previous statistics (2022) (in Finnish)
- Instructions for submission of data to the Hospital Productivity Statistics
Source
The statistics are based on data from the Health Care Register (Hilmo) submitted annually by hospitals to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, as well as on hospital- and specialty-specific cost data collected annually separately from hospitals.
Description of the statistics
Operational and financial data on somatic specialised healthcare include information on the use of hospital services, costs and productivity by hospital, by specialty, by wellbeing services county, by municipality and by patient group (NordDRG Full care periods).
The data are both producer-specific and region-specific.
The producer-specific examination includes university hospitals and central hospitals that provide somatic specialised healthcare within wellbeing services counties. Prior to the reform of healthcare and social welfare on 1 January 2023, all public hospitals providing somatic specialised healthcare were included in the producer-based review, grouped by hospital type.
The regional examination also includes the City of Helsinki and, on the basis of the organising responsibility of wellbeing services counties, specialised healthcare services purchased from private service providers (purchased services/service voucher). Prior to the health and social services reform of 1 January 2023, the regional reform of healthcare and social welfare on 1 January 2023, the region-specific examination included inpatient specialised healthcare at private hospitals as well as almost all day surgery in the private sector.
Åland is not included in the statistical examination.
Update schedule
he Hospital Productivity statistics are published once a year. The statistics’ operational and financial data are published as electronic database reports (Excel). Preliminary data for 2024 were published in July 2025. The final data for 2024 will be published simultaneously with the statistical report
Statistics publication calendar
Contact details
Senior Specialist (questions concerning the statistical report)
tel. +358 29 524 7413
[email protected]
Senior Specialist (questions concerning the statistical dataset)
tel. +358 29 524 7682
[email protected]
