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🇦🇺 Australia /Health & Science

Deceased Patients Booked for Surgery in NT Hospitals Due to Faulty Health IT System

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • The Australian Medical Association (AMA) reports that deceased individuals are being scheduled for surgeries in Northern Territory public hospitals due to failures in the $335 million Acacia health IT system.
  • Doctors reportedly fear speaking out about the system's issues due to confidentiality concerns and job security fears, creating a "chilling effect."
  • The AMA recommends retooling Acacia as a patient administration system, stripping it of clinical information functions, to address the ongoing problems.

The Northern Territory's public hospitals are facing a critical issue where deceased individuals are being booked for surgeries, a problem attributed by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) to significant failures within the $335 million Acacia patient record system. This revelation comes as the AMA submitted its second report to a parliamentary inquiry investigating the troubled health IT system.

Beyond the alarming scheduling errors, the AMA's submission highlights a pervasive fear among medical professionals. Doctors are reportedly hesitant to voice concerns about Acacia's shortcomings due to confidentiality issues and apprehension about job security, a phenomenon the AMA describes as a "chilling effect" that hampers the inquiry.

Humans have had to move away from their day-to-day duties and dedicate time to fixing this problem and that should be a concern.

— John ZorbasAMA NT branch president, discussing the audit process to correct issues with the Acacia system.

Surgical services appear to be the most severely impacted area. Doctors are reportedly struggling to understand how the system is erroneously booking deceased patients for operations. The Acacia system was previously suspended at Royal Darwin Hospital's emergency department due to patient safety risks. An audit process has been implemented to rectify the issue of dead patients being booked, requiring staff to divert from their primary duties.

Dr. John Zorbas, AMA NT branch president, noted that the system's inability to fully replace older legacy systems necessitates keeping them operational. This creates a complex situation akin to running multiple applications simultaneously for a single process. The AMA suggests that the path forward involves "retooling" Acacia to function solely as a patient administration system, managing logistics, names, and appointments, while removing its clinical information capabilities.

Doctors approached do not have faith in NT Health, the Department of Corproate of Digital Development or whistleblower structures to protect them from retaliation.

— Australian Medical Association (AMA)Submission to a parliamentary inquiry regarding doctors' fears about speaking out about the Acacia system.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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