$16m DHB health app bungle
The Waikato DHB has abandoned its $16 million showpiece virtual health service, SmartHealth.
The project, which gave people access to doctors via a smartphone or computer, was a signature project of disgraced health boss Nigel Murray.
SmartHealth was launched in 2016 on a two-year trial basis.
A driving force behind the multimillion-dollar project was to engage rural Waikato residents, who often have difficulty accessing healthcare.
However, in a statement released yesterday, Waikato DHB interim chief executive Derek Wright said the number of users signed up to SmartHealth had been lower than expected.
The health board couldn’t justify renewing its contract with HealthTap, the online platform used to deliver SmartHealth.
‘‘Our contract with HealthTap comes to an end on May 13 and staff recommended to the board that we did not renew it for a further year,’’ Wright said.
‘‘While the board did not take this decision lightly, when we are currently struggling to meet the current demand in our hospitals within our budget, they felt the $7.2 million cost of renewing the contract was not justified, particularly in our current financial situation.’’
Murray championed the virtual health app and took numerous trips to the United States to visit HealthTap’s offices.
During one trip to California in September 2016, Murray stayed two nights at Nobu Hotel Epiphany at a cost of US$1722.32 to taxpayers.
About 10,000 people signed up for SmartHealth.
Health officials hoped to have 20,000 patients signed up to the app by the end of 2018.
The DHB will shut down the online doctor service on April 30.
Waikato DHB chief of staff Neville Hablous said the SmartHealth trial had cost taxpayers about $16m, which included licensing fees, staff costs and expenses incurred from the after-hours service. Despite the substantial investment, Hablous said SmartHealth wasn’t a complete waste of health dollars.
‘‘We learnt some things, but clearly this is not our best work,’’ Hablous said.
‘‘The fundamental lesson is that you don’t procure a piece of technology and then see how you can use it.
‘‘What you do is work out what it is you want to do, work out how it is you are going to do that, and then you see what technology is out there to support you in doing that.’’
In December, Deputy Auditor-General Greg Schollum announced he would investigate the SmartHealth project.
The probe, which is ongoing, is examining the health board’s procurement of IT services from HealthTap.
Schollum is also scrutinising the DHB’s management of the HealthTap contract. Wright said although patients found using SmartHealth a positive experience, the board didn’t engage effectively with clinicians about how to best use the product in their areas.
A report by the Waikato Senior Medical Staff Association called for an overhaul of the SmartHealth service and the staff involved in its purchase.
The report outlined a number of issues, such as concerns over doctors being rated by patients in a similar way to ride-sharing service Uber, as well as time-wasting inquiries from around the world, including a large number about penis enlargements.
Hablous said clinicians had been ‘‘absolutely clear’’ about the shortcomings of SmartHealth.
‘‘And I think they’re right. We should have brought them with us and we didn’t, and we should have supported them to be engaged with what we were trying to do and we didn’t do that,’’ Hablous said.
‘‘Now we have the consequences that we have.’’
SmartHealth has been plagued by controversy since its launch, including allegations that many of those signed up to the app were DHB employees and the project itself was given the green light based on incomplete paperwork.