PETALING JAYA: Touted as the first paperless public hospital when it opened in 2001, the Selayang Hospital in Selangor seems to have come full circle by reverting to hard copies for patients’ details and records.
It is believed that the hospital’s computer system, known as PowerChart, went down in early January and patients have been given booklets since then, on which their appointments and medical details are recorded.
theSun was alerted to the issue by a patient who had an appointment for a checkup recently.
“I was shocked when I came for my blood test and saw an exceptionally large crowd of people waiting for their turns. It was almost three hours before I was called,” the patient, who wished to be identified only as Susan, told theSun.
She added that on enquiring, a staff there told her that the delay was due to a computer glitch, which forced them to do everything manually.
Susan said that after seeing her doctor, she was given a booklet which had her next appointment date and other medical details.
“One of the staff told me the hospital’s computer system has been down since early this year and all records were being maintained manually.
“This situation should not be happening. As it is, hospital staff are overworked because of Covid-19, and now this problem,” she said.
“Why is it taking three months to rectify the problem? Is it due to budget constraints or lack of expertise to address the issue? Are our medical records safe?”
The bigger worry, Susan said, is whether patients’ treatments will be compromised as doctors may not have access to their medical records.
Another patient, Jordan Wong, voiced her frustration in a review she made on Google. Wong had said her overall experience at the emergency room was poor.
“The medical officer on duty could not trace my records regarding the blood test I had done two weeks prior. His reply to me was that ‘it is hard to trace’ and instructed me to redo the same test that I had done two weeks ago,” she wrote in her review.
She claimed she eventually chose not to proceed with a second blood test.
“I was supposed to be admitted but I left because I feel I did not deserve such service from the hospital,” she said.
The hospital’s PowerChart system uses wireless networking tools, which allow doctors and technicians to look up patients’ X-rays and test results the moment they become available, thus making patients’ medical records and treatment plans accessible in real time.
When contacted by theSun, a hospital spokesman said the Health Ministry will issue a response on the matter.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Health Ministry were unsuccessful at press time.
