Posted on 06/19/2024 7:58:22 PM PDT by george76
A cyberattack on a major American hospital system has caused dangerous medication mix ups including patients administered narcotics by mistake, leading to an admission to intensive care for life-threatening breathing difficulties.
In another case, a female patient suffered a cardiac arrest and died after data mishaps delayed test results that would determine her life-saving treatment.
Elsewhere, a nurse working for the Kansas branch of the major medical group recalled a 'near miss,' which involved him almost administering a potentially life-threatening dose of narcotic to a baby — because of false paperwork.
Employees at Ascension, a Catholic healthcare system with more than 140 facilities across the country, said these patients are just some of those suffering from the continued fallout of a cyberattack last month.
The healthcare giant 'detected unusual activity' across its networks, which left doctors and nurses locked out of digital systems and unable to access vital details about patients' care.
Despite Ascension claiming on June 14 that access to the network was 'restored,' more than a dozen staff have revealed that astonishing mistakes are still taking place across hospital sites — from medication mix-ups to lost test results.
Employees say their hospitals are relying on shocking workarounds to bypass the computers, including using handwritten, sticky notes to keep track of dozens of critically ill patients.
Justin Neisser, a travel nurse working at the Ascension hospital ..: 'I just want to warn those patients that are coming to any of the Ascension facilities that there will be delays in care. There is potential for error and for harm.
A emergency room doctor at an Ascension hospital in Michigan, who remained anonymous for fear of retaliation, told Kaiser Health News a patient was given a dangerous narcotic intended for someone else because of confusing paperwork.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Not in my neck of the woods...
EMRs paved the way for the extinction of the independent practice.
Why a PCP employed by a health system isn’t considered a conflict of interest is beyond me.
And somebody made a whole lot of money installing that computer system in that hospital chain.
A new hospital was built in Utica, New York called Wynn Hospital. It's supposed to replace the older St. Elizabeth's and St. Luke's Hospitals. NY State put $74 million toward the build. It opened last October.
I had to go into Utica for a sonogram on Tuesday. I'd already heard that the new hospital was a "cluster f*ck" from a woman I talked to at a previous doctor's appointment a couple months ago, so I asked the Sonographer if she could give me an update. She said it was a mess, and that two other health networks, one being Bassett Healthcare Network in Syracuse, NY and one other were trying to take over the running of the hospital. I just did a search, and I guess there have been problems at the hospital, one being that in May, they had to suspend open-heart procedures. The NY State Department of Health investigated, and as of today, the procedures can proceed again, the problem having been cited as no contract was in place for cardiac surgeon coverage, as had always been required.
If I ever need to have any other surgeries in my life, I certainly wouldn't opt to go there.
anyone in a facility where labs or drugs are administered MUST ask what the test is, why you're getting it, what drug you're getting and all the WHY's....
“We are often told how important patient privacy is , privacy of medical records and yet these sorts of things are available on the internet.”
You caught them lying—good job.
It is like Amazon claiming Alexa is not monitoring conversation but can miraculously hear the word “Alexa”.
Helloooooo......
Lol.
You need both—systems are great at data collection and storage and knowledgeable humans who can do paper work arounds when necessary for the health of the patient.
Even the best systems are not perfect—and that is even without hacking by bad actors.
You’re right. It’s a balancing act between the value that automation provides, human error, the consequences of human error, the cost of automation, the cost of protecting that electronic information and infrastructure, and many other factors.
P
I’m very careful, I do pediatric outpatient care.
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