Hospitals' medication software likely to kill patients within month: Queensland Health report

Updated

New software installed to manage doses of medicine in nine Queensland hospitals is very likely to kill patients within a month, a report by Queensland Health has found.

The report concluded there was a 60 to 90 per cent chance the software, Metavision Intensive Care, would cause serious harm or death at least once in the next month.

The review by the Metro North Hospital and Health Service said pharmacists identified potentially serious prescription errors caused by the system.

"Since implementation, monitoring of patient records by pharmacists has revealed several potentially serious prescription errors specifically caused by the system," the seven-page report said.

"Large volume prescriptions and high acuity of patients overlayed with functional risks of the system increases the likelihood of a SAC 1 (serious harm or death) event.

"There is no record of robust regression or functional testing at vendor, Queensland Health corporate or facility level."

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg could not say if the software was installed weeks or months ago, but said Queensland Health was working with its makers to fix the software.

An improved system will be tested this week and installed next week.

In the meantime, there will be manual administration of medicine.

"I don't believe there is any real risk, because it has been identified," Mr Springborg told 612 ABC Brisbane.

"It is now being rectified."

No deaths caused by software

The Minister said he was not aware of any deaths caused by the software.

"If that has been the case, it has not been brought to my attention," Mr Springborg said.

"I'm not aware of any adverse circumstances."

Labor's health spokesperson Jo-Ann Miller said she wanted an immediate independent review.

"It is clear that there are bugs in this system that could result in catastrophic results for the patient, and also potential breaches of the legislation that protects the patients, doctors and nurses who are responsible for the treatment," she said.

Topics: health-policy, liberal-national-party, doctors-and-medical-professionals, public-sector, health, qld

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