No way to track how much B.C. agency has saved on health purchases: auditor

VICTORIA – B.C.’s auditor general says he was unable to determine whether a government agency in charge of supply chain purchasing for the province’s health regions is actually saving the amount of money it claims.

Auditor general Russ Jones says he set out to evaluate Health Shared Services B.C.’s claim that it has saved $230 million on procurement for the province’s health-care system.

But Jones says he had to abandon his audit, because the data wasn’t available in a form that would be easy to analyze and measure.

Jones says that means it’s difficult to know for sure whether the agency is really saving taxpayers as much as it says.

He’s made a series of recommendations, including that the agency make it clear the $230 million figure is only an estimate and that it changes the way health authorities collect and store data about their purchases.

The agency, which is a division of the Provincial Health Services Authority, says it accepts the recommendations, though it insists its savings estimate is reasonable.