By Mario deSantis, March 31, 1999

Brian Rourke, Chair of SAHO(1), has stated that the $50 million allocated by the provincial budget to address the Y2K problem is "...too little, too late..."(2) Brian Rourke goes on to say that "...I don't believe $50 million in one year is going to be sufficient enough to fix everything. It will be sufficient to fix the most critical elements that need to be fixed such as diagnostic and medical treatment equipment... we'll be looking for additional money next year to fix up the final things..."

After having ignored the Y2K problem for years while sinking money into SHIN(3), the Stargarden payroll project(4), and Telehealth(5), SAHO is looking as usual for more money, that is Rourke's job has not changed(6), he has to look always for more money not on behalf of healthcare consumers but for the providers of healthcare services, the so called community owned healthcare districts(7).

The recent provincial budget has been allocating 40%(8) of public expenditures for health care and this is not enough for Brian Rourke. Healthcare districts have the discretional authority to prioritize their services and distribute their moneys accordingly, but for Brian Rourke this global district's accountability is non existent(9), he wants more detailed money to fix the Y2K(10) nightmare. Brian Rourke as well as all the health care districts cannot ask for money which is to be spent at the same time within a global budgeting context and within a detailed line by line context. This is management by confusion, and this is the only management our decrepit leaders know.

It is time that Brian Rourke rewire his brain(11) (12) and become more accountable in the spending of taxpayer money, especially so after millions of dollars of taxpayer money has been already wasted. New technologies change in a matter of months and our health care leaders carry forward megaprojects and strategic planning over a multi-year period! Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on Telehealth, and today nothing tangible has been produced, yet this technology is today available for a few thousands dollars. Brian Rourke doesn't need more money to fix the Y2K problem, he needs to become more intelligent and change his mental models(13).

Endnotes

1. SAHO stands for the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations, an umbrella management agency for the healthcare districts.

2. Y2K funds not enough, says SAHO chair. By Saskatchewan Sterling Network and reported in The StarPhoenix, March 29, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

3.  A Historical Perspective of The Saskatchewan Health Information Network, by Mario deSantis and James deSantis, March 1998 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-SHIN.htm

4. Letter dated April 28, 1997 from Mario deSantis directed to all Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of Saskatchewan District Health Boards. Re: Computerization of Health Care Payroll and Economic Policies. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letterToChairsCEOs-Apr28-97.htm

5. Ottawa kicks in $400,000 to SDH for video-conferencing. Article reported in The StarPhoenix, January 16, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

6. SAHO Payroll Policies, by Mario deSantis, February 10, 1999. Published in the North Central Internet News

7. A Saskatchewan Vision for Health, Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan, August 1992

8. Feeding health care giant leaves economic gap, by Randy Burton, The StarPhoenix, March 27, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

9. Saskatchewan Tin Pot Dictatorships: Lack of Integrity Is Lack of Leadership, by Mario deSantis, February 8, 1999. Published in the North Central Internet News

10. The culprit of the Y2K Nightmare in Health Care is plain Corruption! By Mario deSantis, January 23, 1999. Published in the North Central Internet News

11. Rewiring Our Corporate Brains - August 2, 1998 http://www.execpc.com/~shepler/corpbrain © 1998 by John E. Shepler shepler@execpc.com

12. Rewiring the Corporate Brain: Using the New Science to Rethink how We Structure and Lead Organizations, Danah Zohar, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, November 1997

13. Examples of mental models in Saskatchewan health care and racism, by Mario deSantis, August 2, 1998. Published in the North Central Internet News