Healthcare computing 'glitch' time again: 15 patients possibly given wrong antibiotic after lab error at Regina General Hospital

Just another computer "glitch", that innocuous euphemism for a catastrophe-promoting IT defect, this time causing patients to receive the wrong antibiotics:Regina Leader-PostApril 17, 2013 15 patients possibly given wrong antibiotic after lab error at Regina General Hospital Fifteen patients in southern Saskatchewan were potentially treated with the wrong antibiotic stemming from a lab error at Regina General Hospital, the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region announced Tuesday.According to the RQHR, lab reports between late January and late March erroneously deemed Clindamycin would effectively treat the patients' infections when those bugs were actually resistant to the drug.  [The biological bugs, not the cybernetic bugs, that is - ed.]Only one of the 15 patients suffered adverse effects. The 15th patient, an adult male, experienced short-term negative effects but has since been switched to another antibiotic. Citing patient confidentiality, the health region would not elaborate on the man's condition.Dr. Jessica Minion, a medical microbiologist in the General Hospital's laboratory, said a computer glitch caused the faulty reports between Jan. 23 and March 28. Need I add that this "glitch" could very easily have killed people?Minion added she and other medical staff will now cross-check lab reports against lab tests after a change has been made within the computer system.Wait - if the "glitch" is fixed, why is cross-checking still needed?  Doesn...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: glitch healthcare IT risks Regina General Hospital Source Type: blogs