$75 Cadillac system

Harvard study says patient information systems don’t save money

PRLog – A new study from the Harvard Medical School concludes that the billions of dollars spent on patient information and other hospital computer systems are a waste of money. Hospital Computing and the Costs and Quality of Care: A National Study

PEI is trying to build a clinical information system that has cost $75 million since 2004. It still doesn’t work.

When we looked at this white elephant in 2006 we estimated it would cost $100 million. By 2007 I published my worst case scenario in a letter to the Journal Pioneer Clinical Information System costs out of control. Within a week of that I discussed my conclusions with Chris LeClair Deputy Minister to the Premier of PEI. LeClair was quite sure they would not waste money like the Tories.

We have spent almost $50 million since then and no end or benefit in sight. That means the Liberals have spent twice as much as the Tories did. Make sense to you?

The Eastern Graphic tried to dig into this but they got stonewalled.Government hides behind fees on $20 million question .

The new capital budget last week allocated another $12 million to be spent on PEI’s Cadillac hospital computer system.

Ontario and Alberta have spent billions on hospital systems than don’t work. The Ontario Auditor General called their system a $1B waste.

In the Harvard study, they surveyed 4,000 hospitals across the United States. The benefits from computerization were illusory at best. The computer consultants promised billions in savings. Health care workers said the systems turned them into record keepers and data entry clerks.

The problem is that most systems take administrative viewpoints since the administrations control the computers. In the few documentated cases where the system provided marginal benefit, the system was designed by health care professionals not accountants. Even then the benefits achieved on the best systems were marginal.

Of course, computer consultants are assuring taxpayers and hospital administrators the end of the rainbow is just around the corner.

“The study comes as the federal government prepares to begin dispensing $19 billion in incentives for the health industry to roll out electronic health records systems. Beginning in 2011, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act will provide incentive payments of up to $64,000 for each physician who deploys an electronic health records system and uses it effectively.” ComputerWorld

The Capital Accounts of PEI show the computer system cost $12 million last year when it was budgeted at $6 million.

All estimates so far on this project have wildly underestimated the costs. Another $6 million is budgeted for the next five years not including salaries, consultants and travel.

The Eastern Graphic has tried to get the actual cost from the government but they are stalled by requests for fees. Government hides behind fees on $20 million question .

We dug through the public accounts since 2000 and found shocking expenses on this computer system. They have spent,or will by March 30, 2010 – hold you hats – $76,479,000 dollars on hardware, software, consultants, travel and salaries. And the system won’t save PEI one red cent.

There are other costs that we could not isolate which are the costs of equipment and software during 2004, 2005 and 2006. We estimate them at $25 million which puts the total at $100 million. We’ll ask the Treasurer for those numbers.

When Wes Sheridan gave his first capital budget in 2007, he estimated this system would only cost another $2.66 million to finish. Since then he has spent $48 million of tax payers money.

There is no end in sight. PEI has no capacity to make this system work. Are we smarter than 4,000 other hospitals, a Province that can’t even upgrade its own computer with hiring someone from New Brunswick?

It is time to pull the plug.