Island Health listened to doctors deliver a formal non-confidence vote Wednesday in a new system that has created a B次元官网网址渉ospital in crisis.B次元官网网址�

It decided to go with a second opinion.

Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 health authority has rejected a last-ditch plea from Nanaimo doctors to suspend use of the controversial $178-million iHealth paperless record-keeping system until its issues are rectified.

Instead, the system will continue operating while immediate steps are taken to address staff fatigue and boost staff trust.

The decision comes at the recommendation of the Health Authority Medical Advisory Committee, a team of medical professionals that determined current staff distress and fatigue was due to B次元官网网址渞esource gaps.B次元官网网址�

HAMAC advised urgent action to alleviate the workload and find ways to improve how iHealth is being utilized, as well as reviews at least monthly of the effectiveness of those steps.

Ultimately, Island Health decided the issues being experienced are tied to inadequate staff support, rather than the system itself.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 not what Nanaimo doctors wanted to hear.

B次元官网网址淥ur request was to remove the ordering system while they work on it and reintroduce it when certain goals are met,B次元官网网址� said Nanaimo Medical Staff Association treasurer Dr. Alison Croome.

B次元官网网址淲e feel itB次元官网网址檚 a reasonable request and that the safety concerns are sufficient. They are confident in their safety data and they feel our concerns are unfounded.B次元官网网址�

The NMSA stated its case in a June 29 presentation to the board, led by vice-president Dr. Tony Booth. Booth said the implementation of iHealth has created a crisis at NRGH that has gone unrecognized by an Island Health report that concluded the system was working as intended.

B次元官网网址淭his report lacks face validity, meaning there are inconsistencies in this report compared with the real-life experiences of the physicians using the system,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪ince the iHealth launch (there has) been a multitude of physician-reported major safety issues from every department that deals with acute patient care.

B次元官网网址淲e do not want a catastrophic event to occur in order to have our concerns heard. We do not feel that it is ethical to put patient at risk using a system that makes it difficult to B次元官网网址榙o the right thingB次元官网网址� and much easier to make a significant error.B次元官网网址�

Implemented in March at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 Dufferin extended care facility and the Oceanside Health Centre in Parksville, iHealth is design to eliminate the use of paper in the recording of medical diagnosis and treatment. Island Health plans to implement it Island-wide after any kinks are worked out.

Medical have centred on how the system has slowed the pace of treatment in critical areas like the hospitalB次元官网网址檚 emergency room and intensive care unit and resulted in missing or misplaced orders, putting patient health at risk.

Staff at the NRGH ER and ICU have been using paper orders B次元官网网址� which are then copied into iHealth B次元官网网址� for about a month now as a precautionary measure and a means to expedite treatment.

Booth said doctors are concerned that the administrationB次元官网网址檚 pride in the system is getting in the way of a solution.

B次元官网网址淲e ask you the board what price is willing to be paid to continue a system whose benefits are as yet theoretical but whose side effects are very real?B次元官网网址�

According to Croome the doctors will regroup to discuss what, if any, further steps should be taken.

B次元官网网址淲e have not decided to take any action, as of yet,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭here are no other steps we can take with the health authority.B次元官网网址�

Island Health CEO Dr. Brendan Carr responds to this issue .

Follow me on Twitter