The controversial record system Helseplattforma has already been introduced at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim, and has led to major protests from the employees. Nevertheless, according to the plan, the system will also be used for all patients in Helse Møre and Romsdal at the end of April. The use of the system at St. Olav’s hospital has revealed major errors and shortcomings: Important documents with critical health information about individual patients have disappeared in the system. Patients have received radiotherapy which they may not have needed, due to a failure in the flow of information in the system. This led to the board of Helse Møre og Romsdal recently wanting to postpone the introduction of the system. But the regional board of Helse Midt-Noreg overruled the local company, and demands that the system be introduced at the end of April. – Weakened patient safety Now the Norwegian Health Authority is sounding the alarm and asking Health Central Norway to answer a series of specific questions. In a new letter, it is stated that the Norwegian Health Authority is worried about whether the error correction is concrete enough and realistic enough to implement so that the system is safe enough for patients. – We still perceive the situation as demanding defiance of extensive improvement work with implemented and planned error correction, says the letter sent to Helse Midt and signed by legal director Anders Haugland and senior adviser Tone Blørstad. In the letter, the Norwegian Health Authority writes that they are particularly concerned about these points: The capacity for error correction at St. Olav’s hospital will be weakened if the system is also introduced in Møre and Romsdal. The entire region will have reduced treatment capacity if both St. Olavs and Helse Møre og Romsdal are not able to maintain ordinary operations at the same time. The improvement work is delayed. There will still be errors in the system when it is introduced in Møre and Romsdal in April. There is a risk associated with the further rollout of a solution that still has known, serious errors. Ask about a postponement option The Norwegian Health Authority now requires an answer from Central Norway Health about what measures will be implemented to ensure the safety of patients if the Health Platform is introduced in April. The Authority also asks what the alternative is if the Health Platform is not introduced in Møre og Romsdal at this time. Furthermore, the Norwegian Health Authority requires a report showing how far the error correction has come and whether there are still unsolved challenges. In addition to this, the Norwegian Health Authority wants to know what has been done to make the system more user-friendly for those who will work with the system. Company representative shares concern Igor Jokic, company representative for the superiors in Helse Møre and Romsdal, believes it is time for the Norwegian Health Authority to demand an answer from Helse-Mid Noreg. He says that these are the same questions that the employees have tried to get answers to time after time. He points to Helse Møre og Romsdal sending out a press release this week warning that the company will have reduced capacity in the coming months due to the introduction of the Health Platform. Igor Jokic is the corporate trustee for the superiors in Helse Møre and Romsdal. Photo: Malin Kjellstadli Korsnes / news – During the past year, there have been no improvements. The employees report that it is just as cumbersome and just as uncertain to work in the system as it was just after it started, he claims. – Makes ongoing assessments of risk Subject director Björn Gustafsson writes in an e-mail to news that Helse Midt-Noreg has had several meetings with Helse Møre and Romsdal recently. – Further introduction runs require targeted efforts and cooperation to reduce patient risk and carry out training measures and other precautions. This also means that we make continuous assessments of the risk going forward against “GoLive” at the end of April together. The Norwegian Health Authority has been given a deadline of two weeks to respond to the Norwegian Health Authority.
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The Norwegian Health Authority is concerned about patient safety in the Health platform – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
