[LINK] another dangerous IT system fail

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

On 1/04/2014 8:37 AM, Jan Whitaker wrote:
> http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/hospital-in-chaos-over-new-booking-system-20140331-35u9w.html
>
> When it comes to health matters, particularly with a major trauma and
> cancer hospital, you just gotta get even the most 'mundane' systems
> right. This one wasn't. From the article, it seems the human factors
> were ignored (language, holidays, reliance on the post).

It may or may not have failed as an IT system, it certainly failed as an 
Information System. IMHO, too many people look at eHealth as a 
technology issue, when in fact its an information issue.

When I saw the reference to the Age article I thought it was coverage of 
the new UK NHS booking system which also failed but in that case 
resulted in the death of a toddler. The problem was a failure to enter 
the appropriate information into the new system. The technology was 
fine, proper treatment of the information wasn't.

UK Coroner Fingers NHS Computer System in Toddler’s Death
http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/uk-coroner-fingers-nhs-computer-system-in-toddlers-death/

Health information is too important to be left to technologists.

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
email: brd at iimetro.com.au
web:   www.drbrd.com
web:   www.problemsfirst.com
Blog:  www.problemsfirst.com/blog