OMA president Dr. Stewart Kennedy says the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives made no mention of eHealth in their party platforms, while the Liberal party has yet to unveil its platform for the Oct. 6 election.
Kennedy said there are six million patients covered by an electronic medical record, which are being managed by 6,000 physicians.
He said electronic medical records will enhance the quality of patient care, co-ordination of care and prevent the duplication of services.
Ontario has a total of 25,000 active physicians with a population of about 12 million.
Ontario's health sector has about 400,000 employees.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath told reporters her party supports the development of electronic records for Ontarians, even though the program is not specifically mentioned in the party's election platform.
"We believe that this is definitely the place we need to go and I think it's unfortunate that our government here in Ontario has fumbled the ball so badly with eHealth records," Horwath said, adding electronic medical records will help ensure seamless transition of information.
The Liberal government spent $1 billion on the eHealth scandal, which handed out nearly $5 million in untendered contracts to high-priced consultants. It ended with the resignation of former Health Minister David Caplan in 2009.
According to the 2009 auditor general report on the province's efforts to bring in an electronic health records system within 10 years, the report concluded the taxpayers didn't get good value for their $1 billion and hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted in the effort. EHealth had 228 employees earning incomes in the six-figure range.
The former eHealth CEO Sarah Kramer was paid $517,428 for what amounted to half a year's work, including $317,000 in severance before she was bounced.
Former eHealth board chairman Dr. Alan Hudson was also replaced while former Ontario deputy health minister Ron Sapford quit and somehow his salary of $433,611.55, plus $64,781.35 in taxable benefits, was funnelled through a hospital budget as a loophole to avoid government pay guidelines.
Before eHealth, Ontario taxpayers paid more than $2.5 million in executive severance to clear the way for Kramer when it shut down Smart Systems for Health Agency in the fall of 2008.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sharon Lem
Quelle/Source: The Sun Times, 07.07.2011
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