This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A streamlined computer program at University Hospital was working really well, posting 100,000 patient bills per day, until a ghost in the machine apparently started thinking for itself.
This week, 700 patients were billed zillions of dollars through bogus $2 million line item charges. Now the hospital is hustling out apology letters along with more sedate, accurate invoices.
Hospital spokesman Chris Nelson said Friday he has been hearing from patients who received the bills sent out Tuesday. "From my office in Research Park I can hear them," he said. "I hope our patients have a little sense of humor. We apologized and we fixed it. We do take accountability."
Nelson said the full reason for the mistake was convoluted but basically, a number that was floating around in the computer program landed on payment-due lines as $2,008,000.
The new billing system ended the practice of sending out separate bills for hospital procedures, Nelson said. Now, patients get one bill listing the various charges for anesthesiology, surgery, pathology and hospital services.
Before the system went live Dec. 1, the hospital notified patients of the changes to come. That letter included a dummy bill addressed to Dora Billings, 100 Tree Lane, Salt Lake City, that showed a $75 minimum payment due Dec. 21 on a $900 outstanding balance. The sample included legitimate telephone numbers, and the e-mail address where people could go if they had questions.
A few rather conscientious people took the notices seriously. "We've actually received payments for Dora," Nelson said.