Thousands of N.L. radiology reports under review

The radiology reports of almost 2,200 patients in central Newfoundland are being reviewed to look for mistakes after errors were found in six radiology reports in early November.

All of the patients whose reports are being reviewed were seen by two visiting radiologists working at the James Paton Memorial Hospital in Gander.

The health authority said those doctors, who are no longer working in Newfoundland and Labrador, wrote reports based on the results of older medical tests, rather than those of the patients' most recent tests.

A health authority official said Monday that it is unclear if the radiologists made mistakes or the problem is somewhere else in the system.

Officials said Monday it will take three to four weeks to complete the review of thousands of reports.

Late last week, Central Health confirmed two patients were harmed by the mistakes that were found in the first six erroneous reports.

One patient suffered unnecessary and prolonged pain. Another patient suffered mental anguish, according to the health authority.

The review involves x-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds and MRI tests.

On Thursday, Central Health CEO Karen McGrath apologized to anyone who may have been affected by the errors.

She said people in many parts of the central region may have been affected.

The health authority said it began investigating its radiology reports in mid-October after a patient complained to health officials there.