AHLTA Is Not Alone, Part II: Ontario’s $1 Billion Health IT Fiasco

It really pains me to post this kind of stuff, but I fear that we are entering an era of unprecedented Health IT fiascos.  After the $4 billion Department of Defense AHLTA fiasco, (AHLTA is Intolerable), and the $17 billion UK National Health Service fiasco, here is a A scathing report on the eHealth Ontario spending scandal charges that successive governments wasted $1 billion in taxpayer money. Carpet bagger consultants have arrived in full force, with flimsy-if-no experience in the complexities of medical informatics, but a deep, abiding concern for their own income.

The head of the Ontario disaster “billed thousands of dollars for limousine rides… before she resigned from her $380,000-a-year job in June. She was given a $317,000 severance package and received a $114,000 bonus after just 10 months on the job.”  This payment was made for leading the fiasco, not delivering a product.  The Canadian auditor found the agency had fewer than 30 full-time employees but was engaging more than 300 consultants. they also said the effort was ”lacking in strategic direction and relying too heavily on external consultations.”