A lack of regular reviews by the Health and Human Services Department of HHS agencies’ IT investments by the IT investment board leaves 90 percent of the investments without appropriate executive oversight, according to the Government Accountability Office.
HHS has developed basic capabilities to select and control IT projects, but management and oversight of its IT investments have significant weaknesses, GAO said in a recent report. The weaknesses prevent HHS from ensuring that it has the best mix of investments for the department.
In fiscal 2006, HHS plans to spend more than $5 billion on IT.
GAO evaluated the IT investment management capabilities of HHS and its largest agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at the request of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
HHS needs to include business representatives of its agencies on its investment review board, develop written procedures for selecting new IT proposals and regularly review and track the performance of agency IT systems, and take corrective action when needed, GAO said.
It also should establish a procedure to ensure that HHS agency IT investments align with department goals, GAO said in its report released earlier this week.
Neither HHS nor CMS have developed a comprehensive plan to guide their investment management processes, GAO said. HHS has started up efforts to improve its investment management processes, but has not coordinated them and other efforts that are needed to fix the weaknesses. CMS has established about half of the practices for building the investment foundation but few practices to manage its investments as a portfolio.
“Without such a plan and procedures for implementing it, the department risks being unable to effectively establish mature investment management capabilities,” said David Powner, director of GAO IT management issues.
HHS said it uses portfolio management software and has begun re-engineering its capital planning and investment control processes. The department has postponed formal documentation of the investment management process until it gains some experience in using it, said HHS IG Daniel Levinson in a written response last month. “HHS has taken what is essentially a rapid prototype development approach to improving its IT investment management,” he added.
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