AUS Health IT Gets Some Facts Wrong on ACT Health – Sorry!

I got this e-mail from the CEO of ACT Health a little while ago.

----- Begin quote:

Dear Dr More

Your statements re ACT Health's E-Health Budget are inaccurate.

Re Your quote [from p212 ACT Budget Paper 4, Technical Adjustments]

"2009/10 $350,000

2010/11 $1,381,000

2011/12 $1,061,000

2012/13 $11,050,000.

So no serious expenditure until 2012/13."

If you go to the next page in the ACT Gov't Budget paper (page 213, Budget paper 4, Budget Policy Adjustments) you will see

An E-Healthy Future

09-10 7m,

10-11, 25m

11-12 35m

12-13 23.1m

[TOTAL 90m]

You are free to criticise, denigrate and mock the genuine efforts of a small jurisdiction to invest in e-heath if that makes you feel good.

However , I suggest that you get your facts right before you do so.

I suggest you correct the record.

Mark Cormack

Chief Executive

ACT Health

GPO Box 825

Canberra 2601

02 6205 0825

02 6205 0830

----- End quote.

I replied, after investigation.

----- Begin quote

Mark,

Thank you for the comments.

I have posted a comment someone sent with the same facts.

I have just checked my source - which was the .pdf of the health section of the budget. It has page 213 just simply not shown. The figures seem to be on page 218. That is how I missed it. Sorry. Attached so you can check.

(Found here:

http://www.treasury.act.gov.au/budget/budget_2009/files/paper4/12health.pdf)

Looking at the .rtf - I see page 213 as you describe. For some reason the pages are different between the 2 files which is why I have missed it.

Sorry to have offended you but without any apparent details of the plans behind the expenditure - except some figuring that seemed very large for 2 hospitals I was quite skeptical.

Is there some more detail of how the funds are planned to be expended in the public domain or that you can make available? If you are genuine with this and there is a credible plan I will make a huge fuss on the blog of your good plans..Take it from me - my motivations are to encourage investment not discourage it.

If you actually read the bulk of my blog it is aimed at encouraging investment passionately!

David.

----- End quote

I am sure many readers would be interested in more details of ACT’s plans. Maybe they could be provided in the ACT Health Web site? This still seems like a huge investment for just two hospitals and I, for one, am wondering how it might be spent!

Sorry again, to all, for my scepticism. It is the first time in a while there has been such positive news for quite a while, given the latest Federal Budget for example.

David.

p.s. Note this is an example of how I am true to the words in the blog 'About Me'. Tell me I have got it wrong, or apparently wrong, and I will be totally open about it.

D.