Vets given wrong Rx doses

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee demanded Wednesday that the VA explain how it allowed software glitches to put at risk the medical care of patients at its health centers nationwide, including the facility in Salt Lake City.

"I am deeply concerned about the consequences on patient care that could have resulted from this 'software glitch' and that mistakes were not disclosed to patients who were directly affected," said Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. "I have asked VA for a forensic analysis of all pertinent records to determine if any veterans were harmed, and I would like to know who was responsible for the testing and authorized the release of the new application."

Patients at VA health centers were given incorrect doses of drugs, had needed treatments delayed or may have been exposed to other medical errors due to the glitches that showed faulty displays of their electronic health records, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.

The glitches, which began in August and lingered until last month, were not disclosed to patients by the VA even though they sometimes involved prolonged infusions for drugs such as blood-thinning heparin, which can be life-threatening in excessive doses.

Read more: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705277657,00.html

[Betsy Ross]

1. Can't wait until all Americans have their medical

records converted to electronic files. Let's see just how wide-spread the errors were.

[suston96]

2. Software glitches are the bane of all electronic record keeping and uses........

....not just restricted to the Veterans Administration.