By Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, October 22, 1999

In Saskatchewan we don't have a vision for health(1) and we don't have The Saskatchewan Way either(2). What we have is an undemocratic government(3), who unable to direct our economic system is spearheading a short-term management of confusion and restructuring where only the strongest, the biggest, the most powerful and the most reactionary survive. In this environment, the secret to survival is not in creating wealth, but in having more taxpayer money to dig holes in the ground(4). But to dig holes in the ground is not an easy proposition for this government; in fact, the digging must be justified by serious and expensive researches. Such researches not only have to firstly justify the digging of the biggest and deepest hole in the ground, but later they must conduct comparative studies to check if more money can be saved by digging more holes over the alternative of digging fewer and deeper holes.

The biggest and deepest hole in the ground was conceptualized in 1995 when Saskatchewan Health and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations presented the Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN) as "...the largest information technology ever mandated in the province...(5)". The integrity of the SHIN project was supported by a research conducted by Ernst & Young which identified paper savings in the order of $58 to $114 Million(6)(7).

The most recent proposals for digging holes in the ground have been expressed by the wish of Pat Atkinson, Minister of Health, to have fewer and fully appointed health boards(8), and by Jim Melenchuk, Minister of Education, who wants to cut the 25,000 people on elective surgical waiting lists by having full-service regional hospitals and by taking money away from SHIN(9)(10). The eventual bigness and depth of these proposed holes will be a matter of debate and compromise since many agencies are asking for more money from the government(11).

The government has specifically planned the downsizing of our healthcare people(12) on behalf of capital projects(13) such as SHIN, and now it is experiencing the highest percentage governmental expenditure in health care. The government doesn't know that people are the only creative resource, and as long as restructuring(14) and obsolete capital projects are put before people, healthcare will continue to deteriorate and biased researches(15) will no longer salvage these policies and this government.

Endnotes

1. The Saga of Health Reform: Pat Atkinson Wants Fewer Health Boards and Fully Appointed Boards, by Mario deSantis, October 17, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis73/healthreform.html

2. The Saskatchewan Way, by Timothy W. Shire, August 26, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/editorials/saskway/saskway.html

3. Governmental coalition in saskatchewan: a private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? By Mario deSantis, October 4, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis71/GovContract-Oct04-99.html

4. Conversation Paper on Economic Policies: Meeting of July 15, 1996 between Brian Rourke, Chairperson of SAHO, Arliss Wright, President and CEO of SAHO, and Mario deSantis of DigiCare. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/Paper-ConversationSAHO-Jl12-96.htm

5. Managing Information Technology-A Vision for the Future-Information Technology Architecture. Page 1.2, Saskatchewan Health, April 1995. Also, refer to 1995 Saskatchewan Health & SAHO request of proposal for SHIN

6. 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

7. Review of Economic Soundness of the Implementation of the Saskatchewan Healthcare Systems Architecture, by Mario deSantis, June 21, 1995 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-HealthRefSystArchB-Jn21-95.htm

8. Health reform lurks, by Mark Wyatt, The StarPhoenix, October 14, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

9. Liberal health plan a go? by James Parker, The StarPhoenix, October 19, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

10. What Happened to the Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN)? By Mario deSantis, June 11, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis57/SHIN.html

11. The Regina Health Board, after overspending some $40 Million for hospitals' renovation and experiencing an operational deficit of $4.7 Million, is asking for more money from the government. CBC Radio, John Weidlich, October 20, 99 http://www.sask.cbc.ca/radio/index-news.html

12. The Saskatchewan Government and SAHO: Mismanaging Health Care and Blackmailing SUN Nurses, by Mario deSantis, May 9, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis51/blackmail.html

13. Technological Changes In Saskatchewan Health Care: An Abysmal Disaster, by Mario deSantis, May 27, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis55/techhealthcare.html

14. Business Process Reengineering from the Perspective of Competitive Advantage, by Edwin B. Dean http://mijuno.larc.nasa.gov/dfc/bpre.html

15. Fragmented Research Come To The Help Of Sasktchewan Reform, by Mario deSantis, September 28, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis70/research.html