B.C.’s auditor general says the province has spent $182 million to modernize aging computer systems, but they still fall short.Getty Images/iStockphoto
British Columbia's auditor general says the province's $115-million public health data system is "riddled with deficiencies" and the technology may already be outdated.
Carol Bellringer says the system, called Panorama, has been defective from the start, burdensome to use and needs ongoing maintenance at a cost of $14 million a year.
Panorama was implemented after the SARS outbreak in 2003, when an independent review recommended that Canada invest in a public health system.
Bellringer says it was expected to improve management of communicable disease outbreaks and immunization programs across the country but Panaroma was five years late in B.C., compared to other jurisdictions.
She's also concerned that taxpayers bore the financial risk when the Health Ministry renegotiated a contract with IBM after it failed to deliver on its original terms.
Bellringer is calling for an independent review to assess the ongoing suitability of Panorama, but Health Minister Terry Lake says a review is already underway and the project won't be scrapped.
Lake says that while Panaroma isn't perfect, health experts agree it's the best system to track data across the province.