Clinic reported 200 patients dead by mistake

Australia: Mistakes in Hospital IT System Declare 200 Patients Dead

08/14/2014

A hospital in Melbourne, Australia mistakenly faxed many GPs false messages about their patients' deaths. Although the mistake was quickly exposed, the shocking news reached the relatives in at least one case. An error in the clinic's discharge form resulted in the accidental death of 200 patients who were due to be discharged after their treatment.

Patients declared dead due to IT breakdown
In Australia, GPs are automatically informed by patients who are released from hospital. At the Austin Health Hospital in Heidelberg, Melbourne, a fatal error occurred. Instead of the discharge, the general practitioners were accidentally informed by a total of 200 patients about their deaths. As the clinic reports, human error is the cause of the IT breakdown. Amendments to death notifications were made inadvertently stored in the layoff form, hospital spokeswoman Taryn Sheehy told the newspaper „Herald Sun“. Family doctors who received the letter, but were informed within a few hours about the error. „We apologize to all concerned practices. Most of them reacted very sympathetically,“ so Sheehy.

The President of the Australian Medical Association, dr. Tony Bartone told the newspaper that the mistake was unacceptable. „Many of these doctors have long relationships with their patients and their families“, he stressed. „It would be shocking to receive such a fax, especially in connection with the unexpected deaths of children and adolescents. "

The Austin Health Hospital is a clinic with nearly 1,000 beds and many specialty departments. A working IT system is essential for such a large home to store and manage the wealth of patient information. Whether the system will be changed after this momentous breakdown, said the clinic so far not with. In at least one case, an affected family doctor had already informed the relatives. (Ag)