Released on June 27, 2012
eHealth Saskatchewan has identified recent instances of diagnostic imaging test results being sent to the wrong physician offices, and is working with health regions to confirm it has the correct physician fax numbers to ensure physicians receive results of diagnostic exams without delay.
Potentially affected physicians are being notified that they should check the electronic Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) for their patient exam results, in the event they have not received the written results by fax.
eHealth Saskatchewan and the health regions are working to ensure all affected exam results are resent to the ordering physicians. Physicians are being asked to destroy any results they may have received in error and to notify the health region if that occurs.
Faxes sent in error to unintended recipients are potentially considered a privacy breach and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been notified.
"Timely access to diagnostic results supports the physician to make informed clinical decisions to provide the best quality patient care," eHealth Saskatchewan Chief Executive Office Susan Antosh said. "That is one of the primary benefits of the move to electronic health records for patients, and rapid access to test results through technologies like the Radiology Information System (RIS) and the PACS."
The potentially incorrect fax numbers were discovered through regular work being done to bring the Saskatoon Health Region onto the RIS/PACS system, which provides health professionals across the province with timely, secure access to millions of images from studies such as X-rays, CT scans, mammography, MRIs, nuclear medicine and ultrasounds.
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For more information, contact:
Joan Petrie
eHealth Saskatchewan
Regina
Phone: 306-337-0976
Email: joan.petrie@ehealthsask.ca