Delivering HealthSmart Report - VAGO

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Achievement against the
approved program plan
At a glance
Key findings
• The original targets for the program have proven to be too ambitious. This has
required the Office of Health Information Systems to revise milestones as the
program proceeds.
• The program’s original completion dates have been extended from four to six
years. However, in our view, the program will not meet this revised delivery date.
• Delivery of the clinical systems, which is central to obtaining the original forecast
benefits of the HealthSMART strategy, is already two years behind the original
schedule, with no firm implementation dates.
• According to the original 2003 timelines approved by government, major acute
hospitals in ten health agencies should by now, be using clinical systems.
• OHIS does not fully account for agency costs in its budgets for the program, nor
does it monitor agency expenses. Therefore, OHIS is not able to robustly
estimate budgets or understand the program’s true cost.
• Although there has been significant activity and effort by OHIS resulting in the
implementation of a number of HealthSMART applications, some 57 per cent of
the original approved budget has been consumed, with 24 per cent of the
expected installations complete, and the shared services environment and
supporting ICT technical infrastructure fully operational.
Key recommendations
The Department of Human Services should:
• identify the agencies expected to implement clinical systems and devise a
realistic schedule, with adequate contingency, to successfully implement the
program
• work with agencies to define a standard method to record agency costs related to
the HealthSMART program
• monitor in collaboration with agencies, agency costs for the HealthSMART
program and report these to the Board of Health Information Systems
• seek authorisation for the various changes it has made to system implementation
and budget targets in the HealthSMART program through the defined central
agency amendment processes.
Delivering HealthSMART — Victoria's whole-of-health ICT strategy 19