City radiologists reviewing thousands of Terrace patients’ imaging tests
Thirty Vancouver General Hospital radiologists have completed a re-interpretation of 275 cancerrelated images of patients who had scans read by a radiologist at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace.
Radiologists at VGH were asked for their help after the work of one of two radiologists at the 44bed Mills Memorial Hospital was found to be potentially suspect.
That radiologist, Dr. Claude Vezina, is now on voluntary leave while his work is reviewed. Vezina moved from Timmins, Ont., to Terrace in October to work at the hospital.
Now that they’ve completed the cancer scans, VGH radiologists will assist in the re-interpretation of other tests including CT scans, ultrasounds and X-rays.
Eryn Collins, spokeswoman for Northern Health, said 8,400 radiology exams for 5,278 patients are being looked at over the next month, but cancer imaging was given first priority.
Patients who had those tests are now being contacted about the re-readings. Collins could not disclose whether the process has changed the diagnosis or treatment plans of any patients.
Images taken between October last year and January are the subject of the review. Collins said the situation arose when one radiologist “flagged” concerns and that triggered a spot audit two weeks ago.
Dr. Elliot Rapp is the other radiologist working at the Terrace hospital. Rapp would not comment for this story, but well-placed sources say that when he arrived in Terrace at the beginning of this year, he had concerns about things possibly being missed.
Collins said the hospital in Terrace does up to 100 radiology tests each day. The numbers will increase in a few months when an MRI machine is installed.
Rapp, now the only radiologist working at the Terrace hospital, will be assisted by other radiologists in the Northern Health region who can view images remotely since the system is digital.
Dr. Bruce Forster, head of radiology at the University of B.C. faculty of medicine and director of imaging at VGH and UBC Hospitals, stressed that radiologists in Vancouver working on the Terrace review have nothing to do with “performance issues, only patient care.”
“We’re stepping up here to help patients in a timely way. We’ve got 30 radiologists working on this to help out Northern Health and I want to be clear that it’s not going to compromise the care for any patients in Vancouver Coastal Health,” said Forster.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. has been notified of the investigation, said spokeswoman Susan Prins. “If health authorities conclude investigations with limits on the privileges and practices of physicians, they have a statutory duty to report them to the college. Northern Health contacted the college immediately with an interim report when they recognized a potential problem and continues to keep the college informed. In the meantime, the specialist is not practising while his performance is under review.”
The re-reading of 8,400 scans evokes a situation in 2010 when 14,000 images were re-interpreted because the performance off our radiologists working in Powell River, Comox and the Fraser Valley was questioned. An investigation into the scandal found that errors by radiologists led to delayed treatment or misdiagnosis that contributed to the deaths of at least three B.C. residents and affected the health of several others. At least one of the radiologists was disciplined and submitted his resignation.
In the 2010 case, gaps in the training and skills related to CT scan interpretations were identified as a big problem, as was the way the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. assessed radiologists’ credentials.
Since the 2011 review report, there have been massive changes in the way doctors are granted privileges to work in hospitals and health regions. Privileging involves a review of credentials, experience, judgment and skill, according to Dr. Jon Slater, who co-authored an article on the process in the B.C. Medical Journal about the issue.