Patient data lost in tech bungle

CRITICAL patient data is not being recorded in operations due to the failure of a new technology system, state parliament has been told.

The Palaszczuk Government is being warned to push the pause button on the rollout of its integrated electronic medical record system, which went live this week at the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Opposition health spokesperson and Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates said the Australian Medical Association outlined in a letter to Queensland Health how the digital data program was failing.

The AMA acknowledged the technology could improve patient care, but doctors are concerned about any extra strain on the overloaded IT framework.

Ms Bates asked Health Minister Steven Miles in state parliament if the digital hospital program had resulted in critical patient data not being recorded during operations.

“Can the minister guarantee that critical patient data such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels are being recorded during all operations?” she said.

Dr Miles confirmed he had a meeting with the AMA and organised for senior officers of the department and eHealth to work through concerns.

He said there were “40 occasions where the system was able to identify a loss of data” but asked Ms Bates “how often a clipboard can identify that it has lost data”.

“It cannot. The reason we have these alerts is that a computerised system can tell you when data has gone missing. What would the Member for Mudgeeraba do? Storm into the PA Hospital and take its computers off it?” Dr Miles said.

“The program to digitise our hospitals continues to deliver results. It continues to deliver reduced medication errors, reduced lengths of stays, reduced numbers of falls and better patient outcomes.

“And that is exactly why previous governments showed the foresight to invest in what is a world-leading hospital digitisation program that continues to roll out this week.

“I congratulate the clinicians at the Gold Coast Hospital who began implementing the ieMR at their hospital yesterday with very minimal disruption.”

Outside parliament, Ms Bates said patient safety should be Labor’s priority.

“On top of a $256 million cost blowout, doctors have been raising concerns for months which have continued to fall on deaf ears,” she said.

“As a nurse, I understand that patient care must always be the priority. Doctors have been warning the Government about major concerns for months, which have been ignored by Health Minister Steven Miles. It’s time for the rollout of this flawed system to be stopped.”