Health Care Waste..and waste...

  In 2009 the Auditor General of Ontario released the report of his investigation into the scandalous waste of the eHealth Agency in Ontario, the body charged with implementing electronic health records in the province.  The bill was over a billion dollars!  God knows how much by now, 2016, for a system that is barely limping along.  The Board of Directors stated that it felt it had little power over the CEO, thereby revealing their total incompetence to serve as a board.  There was more than a little skulldugery and CEO Sarah Kramer walked away with a generous severance and a bonus to boot.  We're still spending a fortune on trying to implement a comprehensive system.  Now the former president of the TD group, a banker, who advised the premier to sell off 60 % Hydro One (the electric company) is being asked how to 'maximize the value' of the province's Digital Health System (i.e. the electronic medical  record ).  eHealth Ontario is a government owned private agency responsible for organizing and storing your medical data.  You may wonder what 'maximize the value means'.  Sounds to me like the precursor to trying to cut some sort of a deal that would remove the monkey from the backs of the Premier and her administridiots and place it elsewhere.
   Let me wind up with a little illustrative fable.

A fable

 

Once  upon a time ...

 

The  king called on the royal weather forecaster and inquired as to the weather  forecast for the next few hours.  The royal weatherman assured him  that there was no chance of rain for at least 4 days.
 
So  the king went fishing with his wife, the queen. On the way he met a farmer  on his donkey. Upon seeing the king the farmer said, "Your Majesty, you  should return to the palace!  In just a short time I expect a huge  amount of rain to fall in this area." 
 
The  king was polite and considerate, he replied: "Thanks for your concern, but  don't worry. It's not going to rain today. I hold the palace meteorologist  in high regard. He is an  extensively educated and experienced  professional. And besides, I pay him very high wages. He gave me a very  different forecast. I trust him." 
 
So  the king continued on his way.  However, a short time later a  torrential rain fell from the sky. The King and Queen were totally soaked  and their entourage chuckled upon seeing them in such a shameful  condition.
 
Furious,  the king returned to the palace and gave the order to fire the  professional. Then he summoned the farmer and offered him the prestigious  and high paying role of royal forecaster.
 
The  farmer said, "Your Majesty, I do not know anything about forecasting. I  obtained the information about rain today from my donkey. If I see my  donkey's ears drooping, it means  with certainty that it will rain  very soon."  So the king hired the donkey instead.
 
And  thus began the practice of hiring dumb asses to work in the government and  occupy its highest and most influential positions.
   
The  practice is unbroken to this day...

 

(My apologies to all of the donkeys I know.)