Radiology results review underway
UPDATED: Doctor leading the review says its being done as a precaution.
Tyler Harper
Apr. 12, 2017 6:00 a.m.
Kootenay Lake Hospital is one of several hospitals reviewing radiology reports.
Over 2,000 radiology reports are being reviewed by Interior Health after it found reason to believe the initial images were assessed incorrectly.
A statement released Tuesday by Interior Health said that the review covers 2,191 diagnostic imaging reports for 1,790 patients in 2011 and 2014. The exams were for X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds, as well as diagnostic mammography reports.
The review is being led by Dr. Ron Collins, an executive medical director at Kelowna General Hospital. In an interview with the Star, Collins declined to say what led to the review being initiated or the name of the radiologist whose work is being looked at.
"It's an ongoing investigation and there's high levels of confidentiality associated with that," he said, adding only that concerns were first raised in early March.
The timelines being reviewed are April 29 to May 31, 2011 for exams done at Trail's Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, Castlegar and District Community Health Centre, and Arrow Lakes Hospital in Nakusp.
The other period is June 4 to 23, 2014 for Nelson's Kootenay Lake Hospital, Trail, Castlegar, New Denver's Slocan Community Health Centre, Kaslo's Victorian Community Health Centre and Grand Forks's Boundary District Hospital.
Collins said his team hopes to have the reports reviewed within four weeks. Until that happens, they can't know how concerned former patients should be.
"Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the patients who were expecting a certain level of service, to ensure they actually got that level of service, we're just going to re-read everything just to be cautious and sure," he said.
Collins added all patients and their physicians will be contacted even if no errors are found.
"We felt that it was really important to reach out to absolutely everyone. Whether a discrepancy was detected or not, everyone will get a letter."
Collins said because all the reports came from one radiologist, current services are not a cause for concern.
He declined to say if the review is connected to a similar incident earlier this year when 8,400 images taken between October 2016 and January at Terrace's Mills Memorial Hospital also had to be reviewed.
An Interior Health spokesperson said former patients can contact its Patient Care Quality Office at 1-877-442-2001 to find out if they are affected.
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