eHealth Ontario board of directors initiates third-party audit

The Board of Directors of eHealth Ontario today announced that it has directed PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake a thorough third-party audit of the organization on matters of procurement, employment, expenditure and related matters. This review will include all matters of recent public interest.

Board Chair, Dr. Alan Hudson, said the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee will oversee the audit and report its results to the board.

“We look forward to the completion of this work on an expedited basis”, said
Dr. Hudson.

Dr. Hudson also highlighted that, since the creation of eHealth Ontario on September 29, 2008, the Board has taken a series of actions to strengthen the accountability of eHealth Ontario to its Board, to the government and to the public:

Internal controls were reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and found to be sufficient;
Approved a policy on Conflict of Interest;
Approved a policy on Whistleblowers;
Approved a policy on Travel and Expenses;
Approved a policy on Procurement; and
Set in motion the establishment of an internal audit function.

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eHealth Ontario is a new organization that plays the leading role in harnessing technology and innovation to improve patient care, safety, and access in support of the Ontario government’s health strategy. eHealth Ontario published the first ehealth strategy for Ontario in March 2009, which is focused on providing a comprehensive, patient-focused, secure and private electronic system. eHealth Ontario will drive the transformation of Ontario’s health care system, building
toward an electronic health record for all Ontarians by 2015.

For further information please contact:

Jennifer Sclisizzi
Infrastructure Ontario
416-325-7409

Heather Brown,
Communications Advisor,
eHealth Ontario
416-586-4238
heather.brown@ehealthontario.on.ca