No government agency should be given carte blanche in their operations, regardless of the importance of the final product. The gross mismanagement and disregard for precious health care dollars, the backhanded deals between friends and the continued bungling of a provincial electronic health records system is unacceptable.

But where do we go from here and how do we get the development of an electronic health records system back on track?

For starters, there is no question that eHealth Ontario must shed itself of the corporate culture of entitlement that has left Ontarians appalled. Ontarians who have patiently waited a very long time for an electronic health records system to roll out across the province.

In the healthcare sector itself, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would deny the importance of electronic health records. Thus, it is essential that this scandal does not leave Ontario even further behind in achieving a system of electronic health records.

Electronic health record systems can lead to fewer healthcare errors, ensure greater co-ordination and provide for better care and health outcomes for Ontario patients. They also have the potential to save our healthcare system millions of dollars each year.

Yet, despite these benefits, Ontario is sadly lagging behind other jurisdictions. We are standing on the sidelines while Denmark, for example –with about half of Ontario’s population –demonstrates an advanced and comprehensive electronic health records system. The level of integration and the close to 100 per cent compliance that has been achieved in Denmark is something Ontario should set its sights on.

But before we think that the only leading example of this kind of system is located in a far-off country, let’s take a look at an Ontario-grown model.

Given what we know and what we’ve seen, the Ontario government would be wise to take a moment to reconsider eHealth Ontario’s present path. The agency’s penchant for the glamour of high-priced consulting is not only unnecessary, but clearly ill-advised. Bringing the development of an electronic health records system back into the public sector, alongside proper accountability mechanisms, should lead to far greater results than we have seen over the past seven years –during which hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been largely squandered.

What is at stake here is not just the completion of a complex information technology puzzle, but also the provision of world-class healthcare to all Ontarians.

Even before this scandal, New Democrats had expressed concern that eHealth Ontario was not focused on implementing a system that priorises co-ordination over all else. Healthcare professionals have raised red flags about the absence of proper plans to have existing systems communicate seamlessly with each other. For example, doctors’ offices may have some level of electronic records but are rarely able to share these records with external partners such as hospitals. This greatly undermines the effectiveness of any electronic health records system.