Many changes still not made four years after flaws in man’s cancer treatment highlighted
Four years after gaps in Alberta’s health-care system led to the death of his son, a Calgary man says the province still hasn’t made the changes to prevent it from happening again.
“Every day, patients in this province are not getting the kind of treatment that they should,” said David Price.
Price’s son, Greg, was 31 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Multiple breaks in Greg’s care and miscommunications between his doctors led to delay after delay until his death about four months later in May 2012.
“This patient was in the care of two, and then three, primary care physicians, none of whom knew or had access to his whole history,” said a Health Quality Council of Alberta report on continuity of care, using Greg as a case study.
“He experienced delays in receiving important tests, difficulties contacting the specialists providing his care, insufficient communication from providers about appointments and results, and confusion about the process for booking appointments. Through all of this, the patient found himself having to make numerous followup phone calls when no one was calling him.”
That report included 17 actions to prevent it from happening again. They were directed at a variety of organizations, from Alberta Health Services to more specific groups such as the Alberta Society of Radiologists.
But the majority of those actions have not been taken, according to the HQCA’s followup report, released this month.
Of the 17, 11 actions are at a high or moderate risk of not being completed and three have had no work done whatsoever. Three others have been fully implemented.
“I don’t think there’s many people that would say three out of 17 is an acceptable score,” said Greg’s father, David Price.
AHS, however, said the report only covered progress made as of April, and doesn’t include more recent steps taken.
“Most patients in Alberta receive high quality care in a timely and comprehensive manner,” AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said in a written statement Wednesday.
AHS launched its new patient information system last month, and has committed $400 million toward consolidating that system to store and easily transfer all patients’ medical records.
AHS also detailed other actions it has taken to improve patient support. That includes allowing patients who have undergone urology surgical procedures to reach their urologist at all times — something Greg was unable to do the day before his death.
However, Price said the public needs to demand more from its health-care providers.
“We accept it, but we shouldn’t, because there is much that can be done,” he said.
“It’s not that hard.”