eHealth Ontario today pledged that the agency will regain the public's trust by delivering concrete results and ensuring that the issues of procurement and governance reported by the Auditor General will not be repeated.
"In the agency's eagerness to demonstrate results quickly, the organization fell short in meeting its obligations," said Rob Devitt, Interim CEO. "We understand that public expectations have not been met and apologize to taxpayers for this failing."
While the Auditor General's report highlights past practices of eHealth Ontario, it also acknowledges some of the very important steps that the agency has taken to strengthen governance and accountability, including:
- Implementing rigourous procurement rules; - Strengthening oversight; - Ensuring appropriate controls are in place; - Enhancing business planning; and - Ensuring mechanisms are in place to better assess deliverables
"I have been impressed by the commitment and dedication demonstrated by the board and staff of eHealth Ontario to get the house in order," said Mr. Devitt. "Restoring public trust will not be easy. But we seek to regain public trust one step at a time, not by what we say, but by what we do and how we do it."