In use since 2008, the Electronic Health Information System (eHIS) is responsible for recording patient data, including medical reviews, laboratory results, medication history and scan reports.
The paperless system introduced by the health ministry is a critical component of hospital operations, with all departments relying heavily on it for timely and accurate information.
According to a doctor with Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, the eHIS system has been down since 5am yesterday due to a technical failure in the program, forcing the hospital to revert to manual operations.
Having slowed down the processing of patient care and medical records in the hospital, the system failure also affected the Sungai Petani health clinic which is located at the old hospital building, as well as the nurses training institute, according to a notification sent to doctors.
“Everything has gone manual now, which is creating a backlog and increasing the risk of errors.
“Doctors have to manually write everything from blood tests to CT scan requests, which is delaying treatment and could potentially be fatal in critical cases,” the source told FMT.
The source also noted that the system, which they claimed has not been upgraded due to budget constraints, is experiencing its longest-ever downtime, already exceeding 24 hours.
The delays have been particularly challenging for stroke patients and other critical cases, where any delay in treatment can have severe consequences.
The manual process has also led to confusion, especially with medication, as some patients cannot recall the exact names of their prescribed drugs.
Nurses have been going around asking patients about the drugs they have been taking, which has increased the likelihood of errors in dispensing medication.
“There have already been cases of medication errors. The system has gone down many times in the past, but only for an hour or so. It has now been more than 24 hours.”
Doctors and nurses at the hospital were told in a memo that the hospital was waiting for assistance from a third-party service provider, but a timeline for the full restoration of the system remains unclear.
The source said the prolonged downtime has impacted nearly 3,000 patients, and while the government’s effort to go paperless is laudable, the present system has exposed the vulnerabilities to the hospital’s operations.
FMT has reached out to the state health department and health ministry for comment, including the Kedah committee chairman for health.