Thursday, August 6, 2009

Update on "eHealth" Scandal

On June 16, 2009 I wrote my second post about the eHealth scandal. Read my post.

On August 4th the Toronto Star had an excellent update. Have a read.


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Scandal-plagued eHealth gets third CEO in 3 months

Tanya Talaga
Queen's Park Bureau

Liberal government go-to man Rob Devitt is the new interim chief executive officer of scandal-ridden eHealth Ontario.

The electronic health agency's board of directors announced today that they have appointed Devitt, currently the president and CEO of Toronto East General Hospital, effective immediately.

Devitt will fill the eHealth top job until the end of this year as the board searches for a permanent CEO.

He replaces Ron Sapsford, the deputy health minister, who was appointed June 9 after former CEO Sarah Kramer left the agency on June 7.

Kramer parted ways with eHealth after a spending scandal involving nearly $16 million in untendered contracts and rich consultancy fees.

Devitt's appointment is part of a shakeup at the agency as the Liberals try to restore public confidence in eHealth Ontario. The scandal emerged after freedom of information documents requested by the Progressive Conservative party this spring showed the agency gave out $16 million in sole source contracts and relied on consultants who charged between $2,750 and $3,000 a day.

Yet these consultants also nickel-and-dimed taxpayers for small expenses such as a $1.39 muffin or a $4.45 cream cheese bagel.

The McGuinty government has relied on Devitt's expertise in the past. Recently, he was supervisor of The Scarborough Hospital. The troubled hospital had years of back-to-back deficits, bitter community relations and some of the highest death rates in Toronto, but Devitt is credited for helping to turn the hospital around.

"I am eager to meet the staff and stakeholders and help the agency deliver on the province's vital ehealth strategy," Devitt said in a release.

Ontario's Auditor General Jim McCarter is expected to release his investigation into the agency in early September.