The board of Helse Midt-Norge has not done a good enough job when they have chosen to overrun Helse Møre and Romsdal, Oslo Economics believes.
Helse Midt-Norge has been ordered to introduce the Health Platform in its hospitals, even if the management believes it is unjustifiable. Here Ålesund Hospital. Photo: Arnfinn Mauren
Sea view
Published: 02/04/2024 20:23 | Updated: 04/02/2024 20:35
The short version
- Oslo Economics criticizes the board of Helse Midt-Norge for poor work with the records system Helseplattformen.
The summary is created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and quality assured by Aftenposten’s journalists.
Short version is for subscribers only
In December, Helse Møre og Romsdal stepped in to implement the HelseplattformenHelseplattformenA controversial computer system that will provide a new patient record and a patient administrative system for hospitals, municipalities and GPs in central Norway. So far it has only been used in one hospital and in 20 out of 67 municipalities in central Norway. on hold. That would threaten the safety of the patients, they believed.
Shortly afterwards they were run over by their owners, Helse Midt-Norge. Their board decided that the Helseplattformen hospitals in Møre and Romsdal must adopt the controversial records system from April – despite the extensive problems in Trøndelag.
– Little thorough
Among the arguments for not postponing the introduction was an alleged additional cost of NOK 600 million.
This made Møre og Romsdal Legeforening perplexed, and they therefore commissioned a report from Oslo Economics. The company has previously carried out a number of quality assurance assignments quality assurance assignments Demands are made for quality assurance of major state projects through the state’s project model. Investment projects with an estimated total cost frame of over NOK 1 billion (over NOK 300 million for digitization projects) are covered by the requirements. Quality assurance is carried out by external professional groups that have a framework agreement with the Ministry of Finance. for the state.
Now the consulting firm has assessed the decision-making basis of Helse Midt-Norge’s board of directors.
The conclusion of the report, which was published on Sunday evening, is merciless.
“By far the biggest weakness of the case presentation is the almost total absence of documentation on the calculations of financial consequences”, they write.
The conclusion: Insufficient and not thorough basis for decision-making.
Aftenposten has previously mentioned that the Health Platform was acquired without a socio-economic analysis being carried out. This is part of the state’s project model. The purpose is to estimate what the community gets in return for large public investments. .
Fact
The health platform
- New, joint patient record and a patient administrative system for hospitals, municipalities and GPs in central Norway.
- The company Helseplattformen AS was established on 1 March 2019 and is owned by Helse Midt-Norge (60 per cent) and several municipalities, with Trondheim being the largest.
- Builds on technology from the American company Epic Systems, which is one of the world’s largest suppliers in the area. In addition, an automated solution for access management provided by IBM Norway is being introduced.
- Among other things, this entails moving away from keeping journals as free text and instead using standardized diagnosis codes.
- Was introduced by Trondheim municipality in all service areas within health and welfare, including one GP office, in May 2022.
- Was admitted to St. Olav’s hospital on 12 November 2022.
- In use in 20 municipalities. A further 14 municipalities have decided to use the Health Platform.
- The cost of introducing the system was initially NOK 3.7 billion, but it will cost well over five billion. No one can answer what the bill will end up being.
- All hospitals in the other three health regions in Norway use record solutions from the Norwegian company Dips AS.
- There have previously been plans and ambitions to introduce joint medical record increases nationally, but these plans have been scrapped.
Sea view
– Should be strengthened significantly
“The quality of the decision-making basis does not seem to match the size and importance of the decision. We believe it is crucial that the decision-making basis is significantly strengthened before renewed board proceedings in Helse Midt-Norge RHF in February 2024,” the report states.
Chairman Odd Inge Mjøen of Helse Midt-Norge is not familiar with the report when Aftenposten picks up the thread.
– I cannot comment on a report I have neither seen nor read, he says.
According to Mjøen, it is the management of Helse Midt-Norge that has come up with the estimate of NOK 600 million in additional costs.
Communications director Eiliv Flakne at Helse Midt-Norge tells Aftenposten that they will read the report and respond to the content and criticism on Monday.
Odd Inge Mjøen is chairman of Helse Midt-Norge. Photo: Frøy Hamstad/Adresseavisen
Sea view
More critical notices
Trade union representatives have warned against the Health Platform for several years. There has also been no shortage of critical reports about the reviled computer system, which is provided by the American technology giant Epic.
Before Epic got the Helseplattformen contract, it was well known that similar systems had had major problems in Denmark and Finland.
Aftenposten has highlighted the problems with the Health Platform in several articles. The system was originally supposed to cost 3.7 billion, but the costs are constantly increasing. In May, Aftenposten calculated that the cost would be well over five billion. Now the total cost is completely out of the blue.
In the past, the Norwegian Health Authority, the National Audit Office and two audit reports have issued scathing criticism of the system.
The Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (DSA) also believes that it was introduced too early. They consider it unfinished and not user-friendly. Now the problems with the Health Platform are linked to incorrect radiation doses and unnecessary X-ray treatments.
Oslo Economics’ judgment is that the calculations presented in the board proceedings are neither sufficiently documented nor explained.
“In addition, there are possible positive economic effects of postponing the introduction that are little discussed,” they write.
2024-02-04 19:23:14
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