A hospital in the U.K. claims its new Cerner electronic health record system has led to increased wait times and caused some patient data to be lost, according to a report in the Croydon Advertiser.
Croydon University Hospital went live on Cerner in September, but since then hospital employees have encountered several serious issues with the system, several hospital board members told the Advertiser. "It's had far more impact in terms of the time it takes to book people in, for example. There have also been implications in terms of lost information about patients," said Fouzia Harrington, director of quality and governance. "There has been a lack of information about hospital activity, which has an impact on finances and, potentially, the quality of services patients are receiving."
Officials at Croydon Health Services, which runs the hospital, issued a statement that the issues are temporary and the Cerner system will lead to improved patient care: "During the initial switch over of systems in September while staff were getting used to the system, some patients did need to wait slightly longer to check in for their clinic appointments," according to a statement given to the Advertiser. "The trust has maintained and surpassed our 18 week referral to treatment targets from the initial roll out."
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