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Harlem Hospital Admits Thousands Of Unread Heart Tests Caused Harm

The Harlem Hospital Center is under fire after uncovering that an estimated 5,000 echocardiograms over the last five years were never reviewed by doctors. While the hospital claims that they were too understaffed to have medical professionals examine the heart tests, New York City Hospital officials say that they have acted in a negligent matter.

Now, years later, doctors from across New York City are gathered to read the echocardiograms and look for abnormalities. Six patients have already been contacted regarding abnormal heart test results that were never reported to them, and three of those patients have gone back to their doctors to be reexamined. However, some patients are now hard to locate – while others may be deceased. In fact, doctors working on the case say that at least 200 of the 7,000 people on record had died since taking the echocardiogram, though there is no clear way to tell if the ignored test results led to wrongful death.

The New York State Department is investigating how this could happen in the first place, disregarding the hospital’s understaffing excuse since similarly sized hospitals with similar shortages still manage to have their heart tests reviewed and signed by doctors. The Harlem Hospital Center also argues that the heart test results were all reviewed by trained technicians.

Some believe that the hospital should call all patients who did not have their medical records reviewed or signed by physicians, both to ensure their health and to prevent future NYC medical malpractice cases.

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