Patients who’ve had x-rays or ultrasounds are warned they could have been given the wrong results.
A glitch in the HSE’s computer system has caused scans to appear worse than they are, leading to some getting unnecessary treatments.
The problem here boils down to a keyboard symbol used in medical reports.
When scans are taken the images are usually archived for future reference.
But a glitch in the software has meant that some of the details have been disappearing when those scans are saved.
In this case, the symbol for ‘less than’ hasn’t been showing up which means that when medics read the results they’re not getting an accurate picture.
The Irish Times, says one radiologist claims some patients could have been treated unnecessarily as a result of their symptoms appearing worse than they are.
But the paper also reports HSE claims that no one is likely to have suffered serious clinical harm.
The system has also been changed to replace the symbol for less than with the actual words.
