Clinical ICT Systems in the Victorian Public Health Sector

This audit report, by the Victorian Auditor-General's Office, examined the clinical information and communications technology (ICT) systems of eight public health services in Victoria to see whether they were appropriately planned and implemented and whether expected outcomes and benefits are being realised. It examined the HealthSMART clinical ICT systems implemented at four health services and clinical ICT systems implemented at four other health services. The Department of Health (DH) failed to complete the expected implementation of clinical ICT systems across 19 Victorian health services due to poor planning and an inadequate understanding of system requirements. It significantly underestimated project scope, costs and time lines, as well as the required clinical workflow redesign and change management efforts. In contrast, non-HealthSMART sites have used their own internally generated funds and implemented clinical ICT systems at a fraction of the cost of implementing HealthSMART. This audit found evidence of a number of potential clinical risks at three of the HealthSMART sites. In the absence of appropriate controls and effective mitigations, these issues could pose serious patient safety risks. (APO 31 October 2013)