Audit turns up problems at Okanagan hospitals

 Interior Health Medication Management Audit by Joe Fries

By Joe Fries - Penticton Western News Updated: July 23, 2013 4:04 PM
Years after a woman died as a result of a medication mix-up at an Okanagan hospital, an Interior Health Authority audit found there still exists a “moderate to high risk” to patients at its facilities. Brenda Gaida, 40, was admitted to Vernon Jubilee Hospital in July 2007 for treatment of a skin condition for which she received a drug called methotrexate. Her health deteriorated and she died three months later at an Alberta hospital.  Her family claimed the cause of death was “methotrexate brain toxicity” due to excessive doses she received at VJH, according to a B.C. Supreme Court ruling issued this month, which confirmed a $440,000 judgment against Interior Health, the hospital and four doctors. The defendants admitted the drug was mistakenly given to Gaida daily rather than weekly. Issues with medication management arise frequently. In 2011 alone, Interior Health reported 5,306 “medication related events” to a provincial database that tracks adverse events, near-misses and hazards, according to an internal audit report completed Dec. 24, 2012, and obtained by the Western News through a freedom of information request. Auditors assessed eight of the region’s largest acute care sites and found just 56 per cent compliance with “standard practices and policy,” and identified “multiple opportunities for substantial improvement,” according to the report. “In Internal Audit’s opinion, there exists a moderate to high risk of significant patient harm associated with the current medication management practices as observed in selected medical surgical inpatient units.” (more)