Caboolture Hospital has undertaken a comprehensive review of medical imaging. This follow-up to the original investigation here, 12,529 patients later, uncovered a huge backlog of 4.5 million patients waiting to follow up on critical medical scans from April 2023. Dr. Elizabeth Rushbrook rejoiced that at the clinical team’s disposal would be a triage apparatus to rigorously evaluate nearly 20,000 images tied to these patients.
An internal process change led to a supply chain disruption. As such, the medical imaging reports were never routinely sent to clinicians in paper form. This failure was particularly alarming, as the hospital was unable to definitively state that potentially dangerous electronic reports had been properly reviewed. The arrival of a man with advanced cancer at the dingy emergency department in Uganda was a glaring failure. Other imaging studies had missed the cancer.
Background of the Issue
The trouble started when the hospital’s Specialist Outpatient Department decided it was time to go back and read imaging for 9,000 patients. The internal process change came into effect in April 2023. What it didn’t do was ensure that every applicable medical report got a robust review through medical experts’ eyes. Consequently, important information from scans ordered for other medical conditions could have been missed.
The messy saga deepened when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) asked about it on September 30. Our continual advocacy in this area moved Metro North Health to finally address this issue publicly. The revelation that a patient with advanced cancer had not been diagnosed until they sought emergency care underscored the gravity of the oversight. The same cancer had been detected on scans five weeks earlier but that had not been followed up on.
“That might change as more information comes to hand.” – Mr. Nicholls
Response and Actions Taken
Dr. Rushbrook answered the call of this emerging crisis. He assured them that they would only be reaching out to patients whose scans needed additional follow-up care but had still not received it. The review process began just two weeks ago, yet we’ve already been able to partner with four patients. We gave them answers with comfort and confidence on what they should do next with their care.
Not only him, but the four other patients who have not yet gotten their scan results have been reached out to by health service representatives. This proactive approach aims to mitigate any further distress among affected individuals and ensure they are informed about their health status.
“If they haven’t been actioned then they’ll be referred to further senior clinical review and the patient will be involved and informed at that time.” – Elizabeth Rushbrook
Expansion of the Review
The review is still growing. To these scans, we have added scans from a larger pool of patients, yielding a total of 12,529 individuals. This groundbreaking achievement is a testament to the longer-term dedication of Metro North Health to improve, validate and cross-check patient data with depth and rigour.
A spokesperson for Metro North Health stated that the review “reflects the clearer picture emerging as patient data is validated and cross-checked through the review.” Like Billings Clinic, any hospital facing crisis needs to have transparency and do a full, honest accounting of the breach to begin repairing trust with its patient community.
