– I experience that there has been a very hallelujah atmosphere among those who have developed the Health Platform, but I actually benefit from hearing about users who are satisfied, says Nils Ivar Leerand. He is a daily GP, but also takes care of the emergency room, which together with the rest of the health services in Trondheim municipality introduced the new IT system Health Platform in May. St. Olav’s hospital was also scheduled to use the system, but chose at the last minute to postpone the introduction until November. The plan is for the entire health service in Central Norway to eventually use the system, so that patients have one collection of medical records across different services. After the first month, however, the emergency room doctors have little to say about the Health Platform. – It is not without reason that we call it the “Hell Platform”, says Leerand. Dagens Medisin has previously mentioned the criticism from him. Cluttered and cumbersome Leerand receives support from colleague Realf Helgesen, who also takes turns in the emergency room. The doctors sum up the new system as very cumbersome. It takes 36 mouse clicks to print a Paracet, according to Leerand. – It is very elaborate. It bears the mark of the American system where you have to secure yourself in front and behind and on all sides against being sued. Everything must be checked and double-checked, he says. Finding information from patients’ old medical records is also difficult, according to doctors. – It is very confusing, at times impossible to find the history. We are afraid that this will lead to us making the wrong decisions, says Helgesen. Doctor Nils Ivar Leerand thinks the Health Platform is very cumbersome and struggles to get an overview of patients’ disease picture. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news The problems with the new computer system lead to the doctors in the emergency room being able to serve almost as many patients as before. – Most doctors do not manage much more than half of the patients they took away before, says Leerand. – But this will probably improve when you get the system more in your fingers? – It will go slowly, but surely that way, but I never think we will get up to the pace we had before the Health Platform, says Leerand. – We must hope that the Health Platform and the owners take action, but for me it will be completely inappropriate to use this in our own practice, says Helgesen. No reports have been received Daniel Granström is a shop steward for permanently employed doctors at the emergency room in Trondheim, and himself works night shifts there. He has received a lot of feedback in line with the criticism from Leerand and Helgesen. Based on the feedback, the shop stewards will report their concerns to the State Administrator. – We are obliged to provide the supervisory authorities with information about conditions that may endanger patients’ health, Granström says. A good part of the feedback is precisely that the system is very time-consuming. Many people are of the opinion that the system is so complicated that it will not go as fast as before, even when you are used to it. The fact that the system takes more time, in turn, leads to an accumulation of patients in the emergency room. Even though it has been compensated with extra staffing, the doctors have nevertheless experienced several times that they have not been able to give patients help as quickly as desired. According to doctor and shop steward Daniel Granström, the Health Platform means that all joints become slower, both at the counter, with nurses and with doctors, which in turn leads to congestion in the emergency room. Photo: Daniel Granström In addition, the shop stewards have received a lot of feedback about small and large errors and deficiencies in the system. Some of the more serious errors are that epicrisis, blood test results, X-ray results and referrals have not reached the recipient, so that patients are at risk of not receiving the necessary follow-up. – You send this in good faith that the system will work, but then it does not. At the same time, you do not receive an error message, so you do not know if it has actually arrived, Granström says. However, he emphasizes that the dialogue with the Health Platform is perceived as good, and that it is the law that errors and challenges must be addressed. – It should happen immediately. Understands the frustration Christer Mjåset, Doctor and Deputy CEO of the Health Platform, says he can well understand the doctors’ frustration and concern. But he reminds that it is not many weeks since the system was put into operation. Then it will necessarily take some time before you get used to it, and errors will always occur when you build such a large system, despite extensive testing in advance, says Mjåset. – When you face reality, you have to weed out mistakes and optimize. We will have to spend the next few months on this, and it is quite common when launching such large systems. The problem with epicrisis and other messages that did not come out, they have already addressed, and should now be in order, Mjåset assures. Christer Mjåset is Deputy CEO of the Health Platform, and a doctor himself. Photo: The health platform He will further encourage users to make constructive criticism, so that they can adapt to their needs. Health and Welfare Director Wenche Dehli in Trondheim municipality, also believes that the feedback from the doctors is useful. The municipality is responsible for the operation of the emergency room and in addition the second largest owner of the Health Platform. Dehli says that they themselves have met with the State Administrator this week to inform about challenges and measures. – Patient safety is the most important thing for us, she says. According to the director of health and welfare, the hope is that the Health Platform will be at least as effective as previous systems. Dehli says that they have also received feedback from users who are satisfied. – Those who have become accustomed to using the system and have received good training in it, say that this can be very good. Health and Welfare Director Wenche Dehli says they take all feedback seriously. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Need a better flow of information Among those who are more positive about the Health Platform, you will find Øya health center, which is located next to St. Olav’s hospital. – It is a large system, but we see many possibilities in it, says unit manager Anne Grete Nygård Skaar. She says that they too have experienced some challenges in the start-up, and believes that there is probably some development left. – But no one is completely satisfied on day one, and with all new systems it will take some time before you have it in your fingers. We have been prepared for that. We have invested a lot of resources in this and are motivated to make it work. Christer Mjåset in the Health Platform is convinced that a system like this involves a boost. – This is first and foremost about the patients. The system is built to improve the flow of information in the health service, and it is really needed. The inhabitants do not experience a coherent health service today, he says. – But in the long run I think this will improve the health service considerably, not the opposite.
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