An unusual malfunction has been discovered in the “Camelion” medical file system used by several hospitals in Israel. The Ministry of Health has announced that after a thorough inspection and control process, an error was found in the system, resulting in incorrect copying of clinical information from patient to patient. This has led to errors such as wrong blood types, misdiagnoses, and incorrect labeling of procedures.
Despite the potential harm this could have caused, no patients have been injured due to these malfunctions. However, the extent of the defect is still under investigation. This is not the first time a malfunction has occurred with the “Camelion” software; another incident happened in February when a previous error caused erroneous drug addition to some patients’ permanent medical records, affecting around 1,200 people.
The “Camelion” system has been operational since 2008 and is used by about 80% of hospitals in Israel for their emergency room admissions and treatment processes in wards and clinics. Tens to hundreds of thousands of people use the system daily for their medical care. The Ministry of Health is currently investigating further to ensure that patient records are safe and accurate moving forward.
