Hospital IT issues heighten the risk of misdiagnosis

Recurring IT issues within the laboratory computer system at Cork University Hospital have heightened the risk of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment, internal documents seen by the Irish Examiner reveal.

The likelihood of major errors occurring within the pathology department due to a “corrupt database” is outlined in the hospital’s pathology risk register — a management tool to identify and manage risk.

The problem of database corruption and its potential effect on pathology results and, consequently, patient treatment, is flagged in the risk register in 2012, 2013, and 2014.