Austin Hospital in Australia mistakenly declared 200 patients dead. On July 30, the Melbourne hospital faxed death notices to numerous general practitioners throughout the region. The notices were meant to inform doctors that their patients were discharged from the hospital. Instead, each notice stated that the patient was deceased.
As reported by Herald Sun , the hospital corrected the mistake within hours. Unfortunately, at least one doctor contacted a patient’s family to express condolences.
When the mistake was realized, Austin Hospital officials offered a sincerely apology. However, The Australian Medical Association Victoria said the mistake was unacceptable. President Dr Tony Bartone said the notices were upsetting for the doctors and their regular patients:
“Many of these GPs have long relationships with these patients and their families… It would have been distressing to receive such a fax, especially relating to the unexpected death of children and teenagers.”
As Austin Hospital is one of Australia’s largest, Bartone said the incident underlines the need for a “strong IT health system.” His opinion was echoed by Victoria opposition leader Daniel Andrews, who believes the health care system is “overstretched.”
Although numerous leaders blamed the IT department and a lack of resources, an Austin Hospital spokeswoman denied the allegations. In an official statement, the spokeswoman explained that it was a simple clerical error :
“In the process of changing the template which notifies a GP of his or her patient’s death, the changes were saved to the standard [discharge] template.”
As reported by The Guardian , the error was corrected as soon as possible , and the doctors, “for the most part, were very understanding about the error.”
Unfortunately, Austin Hospital’s recent snafu was not the first. In April, the Australia hospital experienced a serious issue with their computerized appointment scheduling system.
Hospital officials confirmed numerous patients missed vital appointments, as they were incorrectly booked. Although the prior and most recent incidents appear similar, a hospital spokeswoman said they are not related.
Both issues were certainly troubling, but Victoria Health Minister David Davis said the health care system is not under distress. Davis points to increased funding of $98.1m, which is being used to improve and streamline the entire healthcare system. In his opinion, the improvements are and have been largely successful.
Austin Hospital is one of Australia’s largest healthcare providers — and they are certain to make mistakes. However, two serious mishaps within five months have raised questions. Although some officials have serious concerns, the health minister has assured residents the system is constantly improving.
[Image via Pinger ]
