VICTORIA - B.C.'s Opposition New Democrats are calling for an independent review of Health Ministry contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after complaints about transparency by business and labour.
NDP health critic Adrian Dix called for the independent review Thursday, noting an internal Health Ministry audit involving allegations of financial irregularities and new information raising questions about one contract worth $108 million.
Health Minister George Abbott has said the government reviewed the ministry's contract selection process and found it clean, but Dix said that's not enough for taxpayers.
"It's not good enough to say we've reviewed them and we did everything right," Dix said.
"I think there should be an independent review into these contracts based on information that I've received from suppliers, based on a report in The Canadian Press, based on the fact that the entire area of this is the subject of perhaps a police investigation and a serious internal review."
"All of these raise issues of public confidence," he said.
At least one medical software company has publicly stated its concerns about the transparency of the Health Ministry's bid selection process after its bid for an electronic medical records software project was rejected.
Tom Elliott, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Elliott Meditech, said he felt he could vomit when he discovered a bureaucrat and a businessman connected to the ministry's audit were on the steering committee for the software project.
Ron Danderfer, the former assistant deputy minister of health, was the co-chairman of the Physician Information Technology Office - PITO - project steering committee.
Dr. Jonathan Burns, whose company develops software for a handheld wireless device endorsed by B.C. health region bodies, was an alternate on the steering committee.
The government audit involves a cheque for almost $10,000 that Danderfer's wife received from Burns.
Both Danderfers were placed on mandatory leave last July after the discovery of an e-mail between them in which Ron asks his wife if she received a cheque from Burns, a government official said.
One of the six winners of the software contract is listed on Burns' company website as a partner, though the company denies it ever had a financial relationship with Burns.
The Danderfers retired from their jobs last week and Abbott told reporters Ron Danderfer resigned under a cloud.
Abbott said the ministry audit is still underway and confirmed the RCMP called the ministry last July. He referred questions about a police investigation to the RCMP.
An RCMP spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny if the matter is under investigation by the Mounties.
Neither Burns nor the Danderfers could be reached for comment, despite repeated attempts.
Abbott said the audit involves "allegations of irregularities" connected to the former assistant deputy minister of health.
He maintains the audit is not connected to the PITO project and said neither Danderfer nor Burns were involved in selecting the six contract winners.
But Dix said he finds Abbott's attempt to distance Danderfer and Burns from the bid process puzzling.
"These guys were key players appointed by the Minister of Health and now they're saying they are not key players," said Dix.
The PITO contracts are lucrative because under the program, the government pays doctors to convert to software provided by one of the six. It also means that any company producing such software that didn't win the bid will be competing against products endorsed and paid for by the government.
Dix said the PITO project and other contracts connected to its e-health initiative to provide high-tech record-keeping and services is a new venture for the province and taxpayers need to be reassured the process is being managed properly.
"The whole architecture of this is hundreds of millions of dollars," he said. "Surely something that's so important should be the subject of a public review."
Meanwhile, the Hospital Employees Union says the government's opaqueness on the PITO contract is similar to the treatment it's been getting on other matters.
"The common theme is the lack of transparency and accountability with taxpayers dollars and health care in British Columbia," said Judy Darcy, the union's spokeswoman.
Darcy estimated the contracts the Health Ministry has with the private companies are worth up to $750 million.
Darcy says the union has been trying to get health contract information from the government without much luck despite a Supreme Court of Canada ruling ordering the government to consult with the union.
The high court struck down government legislation that allowed the gutting of health contracts with unions.
