Four staff members from Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide have been “counselled” for removing a radiologist’s comments about hospital management from a patient’s medical record.
In July, Dr Paul Newbold revealed part of a patient’s record was deleted and he believed the deletions were “very dangerous and very sinister”.
The comments related to the ordering of tests and delays in reporting test results.
The hospital introduced a new computer medical imaging system called ESMI in May.
“That report has been erased, it’s like I never left home, never drove to the hospital, never put that report in the medical record system,” Dr Newbold said at the time.
Chief medical officer Paddy Phillips conducted a review of the situation and told 891 ABC Adelaide that it was “a serious issue”.
He said the four people ranging from middle management and higher “were involved in the separation of that medical record, or that radiology report for that test from that individual patient’s record”.
“It wasn’t destroyed but it was separated, but that did make it invisible so it wasn’t seen on the record which makes it effectively if you like deleted.”
“They tried to do something that was inappropriate. They now know that, they admit that they made a mistake and they have been counselled.”
Health Minister Jack Snelling said medical records were private and the issue the doctor wanted to raise about the service would not have reached his office.
He said Crown Law were aware of the investigation’s findings and would consider if the matter should be forwarded to the Department of Public Prosecutions to consider charges.
Mr Snelling said to his knowledge this was an isolated case.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the state’s digital health records were “a complete and utter mess”, with several computer programs in use.
He said the Lyell McEwin Hospital case raised great concerns.
“It really just again chips away at the confidence of the people of South Australia and the health system,” he said.
“How do we know other medical records aren’t being accessed inappropriately? Aren’t being altered inappropriately?”