Hospitals prescribe transparency
October 28, 2009
Robert Benzie
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF
Ontario's hospitals are more than happy to submit themselves to an internal exam.
In a surprise move, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) on Tuesday asked Queen's Park to open the province's 155 hospitals to the scrutiny of freedom-of-information laws.
"Ontario's hospitals value their communities' confidence and trust, and our proposal to have (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) apply to our sector can only help bolster public trust and confidence in hospitals and the broader public sector," OHA president and CEO Tom Closson said in a statement.
The proposal comes in the wake of the eHealth Ontario spending scandal, where the opposition Progressive Conservatives used expense accounts and contracts gained through freedom-of-information requests to trigger a probe by Auditor General Jim McCarter into the province's electronic health records agency.
McCarter, whose review criticized reliance on high-priced consultants and untendered contracts, concluded the Liberals and their Tory predecessors spent $1 billion on the initiative and had little to show for it.
Health Minister Deb Matthews, who was shuffled into the department by Premier Dalton McGuinty after the eHealth debacle, hailed the OHA for its offer and its initiative.
"The OHA wants to be as transparent and as accountable as possible.
"They know that communities are investing a lot of money in them," Matthews told reporters.
Toronto Star