Health[1] regulators have launched an investigation after it emerged that patients may have been inappropriately put on statins or taken off them as a result of a computer error.
Pulse magazine revealed there has been a bug in a computer system used by some GPs[2] to determine a patient's risk, meaning some people have had their risk of cardiovascular disease miscalculated.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has contacted GPs to let them know there has been an error in the SystmOne clinical IT software since 2009.
But the regulator said that only a limited number of patients may have been affected by the glitch in the system, manufactured by IT company TPP. It also stressed that the risk to patients was low.
The MHRA said: "An investigation has been launched into a digital calculator used by some GPs to assess the potential risk of cardiovascular disease in patients.
"We are working closely with the company responsible for the software to establish the problem and address any issues identified.
"Clinical advice is that the risk to patients is low and only a limited number of patients are potentially affected. GPs have been informed and they will contact individual patients should any further action be necessary."
TPP told Pulse: "The tool is intended to support GPs in assessing patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and in developing treatment plans.
"We are actively working to ensure the issues identified are addressed and to ensure that clinicians are informed of any patients that may have been affected as soon as possible."
A spokesman for the Royal College of GPs said: "Our patients trust the information and advice we give them about their health, so it is essential that the tools we use to inform this is accurate.
"Our patients should be reassured that the MHRA has said that the risk to patients is low, but any error in the technology we use to inform the advice we give our patients is very serious.
"We look to the MHRA for more information about how many patients are affected, and how they propose to minimise any risk to their safety.
"With statins being such a controversial treatment, among both doctors and patients, the seriousness of this error is particularly pronounced. The decision to prescribe statins to patients is never taken lightly, and those who are prescribed them will undertake regular medication reviews.
"We would advise our patients who take statins, and those who have cardiovascular problems but don't, not to panic as a result of this news. But if they are concerned, they should make a non-urgent appointment with their GP to discuss this."
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