Nurses followed previous downtime training but this was different because there was no ability to see any info on the patient.”Īt the Alta Bates Berkeley facility, nurses reported surgery delays in labor and delivery and widespread problems with lack of vital information in labor and delivery and medical-surgical units. There was no training for this kind of downtime as it was unplanned. “There were no orders that could be seen of any kind through the day so nurses called for what they needed.” All that prevented greater chaos, said Hill, was the expertise of the RNs who “knew what to do from experience, not from any direction from management as management was running around not knowing what to do according to the nurses. “All information such as medication administration records, and patient histories was outdated by two to three days” during which a lot can change with the extremely fragile hospital patients, notes Alta Bates Summit RN Mike Hill. Reports from RNs throughout Sutter found little or no backup planning by hospital management, inadequate training, and little support during the emergency. “These systems should never be relied upon for protecting patients or assuring the delivery of the safest care.” No access to medication orders, patient allergies and other information puts patients at serious risk,” says CNA legislative director Bonnie Castillo, RN. It is a reminder of the false promise of information technology in medical care. Epic computers remained dark until late afternoon or early evening. at various Sutter hospitals, Epic suffered a meltdown, going completely dark, requiring nurses and doctors to effectively work blind without any access to patient information, including what medications patients were on or needed, patient history information that informs treatment options, and all other information required for safe patient care delivery.įacilities affected by the Epic collapse included Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facilities in Berkeley and Oakland, Eden Medical Center facilities in Castro Valley, Mills Peninsula in Burlingame, Sutter Delta in Antioch, and Sutter Tracy and Sutter Modesto, as well as Sutter affiliated doctor’s offices and clinics. Friday night, Epic was down for a planned “upgrade” for up to eight hours during which nurses and other users could read medication orders and patient histories, but not enter new data which was kept on paper records then re-entered into the computers later. That is evidenced by managers at Sutter Delta in Antioch where RNs have been threatened with discipline for failure to enter all charges into the computers. These health information systems are not simply computerized versions of medical charts, but a complex system for maximizing revenue and profits and routinizing care that limits nurses’ ability to meet individual patient needs. Sutter management has ignored the nurses concerns. In July, CNA cited over 100 reports submitted by RNs at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facilities in Berkeley and Oakland, documenting a variety of problems with Epic. A controversial electronic health records system on which Sutter corporation has said it is spending $1 billion went completely dark Monday at Sutter hospitals in Northern California exposing patients to additional risk beyond problems reported with the system in July, registered nurses reported yesterday.įor several months RNs have cited multiple problems with the new system, known as Epic, with safe care delivery that the California Nurses Association says is increasingly troublesome.
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