System designed to expedite death registration not up and running after five years, while system devised to monitor response to disease trends not functioning after nine years.

View Audit Report on the Development and Implementation of the Disease-Tracking System
View Audit Report on the Development and Implementation of the Electronic Death Registration System

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. released two audits today that found that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene circumvented City procurement rules to develop two database systems that, despite years of delays, are still not operational and have so far cost taxpayers more than $9 million. In addition, the agency anticipates spending $1.8 million more to develop one of the two systems. The agency’s Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS) was designed to automate and improve the death registration and certification process, but that system still isn’t working after five years, while the agency’s Person Registry Information Management Environment (PRIME) system has been in development for nine years.

“It is extremely disturbing that what began simply as improper procurement practices during the previous administration ended up being a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars,” Comptroller Thompson said. “These systems were designed to use current technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the City’s death registration and disease-tracking systems. After spending millions of dollars these systems have yet to register even one death or track even one disease.”

In both cases, the audits determined that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ignored City procurement rules when it employed the IBM Corporation and the Alternative Resources Corporation to develop and implement the EDRS and PRIME systems. The two systems have cost the City $9.5 million—$3.2 million for EDRS and $6.3 million for PRIME.

“The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene needs to follow the recommendations in my audit to ensure that future system development projects do not suffer the same fate as these.” Thompson said. “I trust these audits will convince the agency to follow City guidelines, which in turn should ensure the success of future projects and prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars.”

ELECTRONIC DEATH REGISTRATION SYSTEM (EDRS)

In 1998, the Department of Health began to develop the Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS) to automate the functions of its Registration Unit. That system was designed to use Internet technology to enable a completely automated death registration and certification process, with capabilities of printing death certificates and permits for burial, cremation and transportation of human remains. Hospitals, doctors, funeral directors and medical examiners would primarily enter information, which would be certified by staff at the agency (which has since merged with the Department of Mental Hygiene) and would produce burial permits and death certificates. The audit found that, to date, none of the objectives have been met.

Additionally, the audit found the agency ignored the City’s procurement practices when it entered into a “Customer Agreement” with IBM to provide technical and consulting services for the design and startup of EDRS in 1998. The agreement with IBM was based on billable hours rather than on specific deliverables, making it difficult both to control costs and to offer IBM an incentive to produce deliverables within prescribed deadlines. In fact, the agreement with IBM was modified 13 times, which led to increased costs and extended the estimated completion date.

“The method used to procure services from IBM was inappropriate for a project of this magnitude and contributed to the failure to develop EDRS despite the payment of more than $3.2 million to IBM,” Thompson said. “By ignoring the City’s normal procurement practices, the Department violated its obligation to encourage competition and obtain the best value in the interest of the City and the taxpayers.”

Because the system is still not developed , the agency is currently entering into a contract with Dynamic Services International (DSI) to complete the work for an additional $1.8 million.

Additionally, auditors discovered that the agency did not employ a formal systems development methodology or an independent quality assurance consultant, as required by Comptroller’s Directive 18. Although the agency admits the system is not working, auditors noted that information in the Mayor’s Management Reports (MMR) from 1999 to 2001 indicates the system was progressing and ready for full implementation.

“The Department has never produced a working EDRS, contrary to the assertions in the MMR that a deployable system was imminent,” Thompson said. “We believe that the public has a right to know the important details related to this $5 million project.”

The audit reocmmended that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: ensure that it follows all applicable Procurement Policy Board (PPB) Rules in its procurements; comply with all applicable provisions of Comptroller’s Directive 18 when developing systems; and, ensure that the agency provides accurate information to be included in the MMR.

In its response, the agency acknowledged “a number of problems” in implementing ERDS, and partially agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations.

PERSON REGISTRY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT (PRIME) SYSTEM

In 1994, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Disease Intervention began planning the Person Registry Information Management Environment (PRIME) system to monitor and manage its response to disease trends. PRIME would automate the collection, tracking, and analysis of disease reports in New York City by centralizing data from a large number of sources, including private providers, hospitals, and laboratories, and by integrating disease-tracking subsystems within one system.

Four years later, the agency hired the IBM Corporation to design the system, develop its business rules, create the common database for its subsystems, program the Communicable Disease Program subsystem, and prepare training materials. IBM was paid $4.6 million for the work. However, as of 2000, PRIME still was not operational, and the Department engaged Alternative Resources Corporation (ARC) to complete PRIME for $1.7 million.

Three years later, ARC delivered a system that was only partially complete and included only one subsystem, the Communicable Disease Program. However, users were uncomfortable with this subsystem and the programming languages used by ARC to develop PRIME were obsolete by the time the system was operational.

As with EDRS, Thompson faulted the procurement method, indicating that the method used to procure services from IBM was inappropriate for a project of this magnitude. The Comptroller also noted that, in its attempt to develop PRIME, the agency did not employ a formal systems development methodology and did not use an independent quality assurance consultant throughout the process.

The Comptroller recommended that the agency: ensure that it follows all applicable rules in its procurements and comply with all applicable provisions of Directive 18 when developing systems.

In its response, the agency said it expects to finish work on a disease surveillance system, which complies with the National Electronic Disease Surveillance standards, before the end of this year.