Down Under, Same Problem

I wrote last week about a study that identified diagnostic errors as the most common and costly of medical mistakes. The authors’ work was focused on malpractice claims made in the U.S., but this article is also getting attention on the other side of the globe. The Medical Journal of Australia spoke with Dr. Michael Smith, clinical director of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and he had this to say:

“About half of all diagnostic errors… are system errors — the lab result that goes missing, for example. A classic is the abnormal result that gets put into a patient’s file, but the GP isn’t informed, and if the patient doesn’t come back, the diagnosis is missed or delayed.”

“There are systems that can be put in place by medical practices to reduce those errors,” Dr. Smith said. “That’s the sort of work that’s starting to happen nationally.”

It’s actually happening internationally. In addition to the interest our Australian office has been hearing from customers, we’re already helping many hospitals manage their test results more efficiently, including Tuomey Healthcare in South Carolina, EMH Healthcare in Ohio, and Quinte Health Care in Ontario, Canada.