Requires more responses from e-Health Directorate after Aftenposten disclosures

For the second time in two months, the Ministry of Health and Welfare Services requires the e-Health Directorate to answer a series of questions about the use of the PwC consultancy.

It appears in a letter that the ministry sent to the e-Health Directorate on September 10. It was Dagens Medisin who first broke the news.

This is the second time in a short time that they have had to respond to the ministry on the use of PwC consultants.

In July, Aftenposten documented how one of PwC’s co-owners has for several years acted as a state representative in the Akson study, a project that will make it easier for Health Norway to communicate with each other.

You want more answers

On September 2, Aftenposten reported on how PwC had to work in the fall of 2018 in preparation of the blueprint for the huge digitization project.

This happened for they had to compete for a paid hourly contract to direct and plan precisely this blueprint. Displays the documentation that Aftenposten has reviewed.

The contract was worth up to NOK 75 million plus VAT.

The Ministry writes in the letter that the management will respond in detail to the information discussed by Aftenposten. They want to know more about the role of PwC consultants during this period.

Second statement

So far, the Norwegian e-Health Directorate and Health Directorate have paid NOK 96 million for consulting services related to the reports where the PwC project manager has been instrumental.

One of the country’s leading procurement experts believes the management has violated regulations.

Management has denied that they have done anything wrong. They believe the bidding process has been orderly.

The July case prompted the Ministry of Health and Care Services to require management to submit a report.

There, both the use of consultants and the process mentioned by Aftenposten would be reviewed.

In August, the management published a full report claiming that they had not violated the regulations. At the same time, they saw “room for further improvement.”

Request a fairness assessment

On September 2, Aftenposten was able to document new details about PwC’s role before the disputed contract was signed.

This was not information that appeared in the management report.

The time lists also show that management has paid PwC for assistance in answering questions from the media about Akson and in evaluating and gossiping on access requests. Management believes the timesheets paint an inaccurate picture and says that consultants cannot make independent evaluations of access requests.

The Ministry is now requesting an evaluation of the impartiality of those involved. They want to know more about whether PwC could have gained a competitive advantage when they worked on the preliminary project before the contract was awarded, they write in the letter.

The letter has also been sent to SV’s parliamentary representative, Nicholas Wilkinson. In September, it took the unusual step of requiring access to documents sent between the ministry and the e-Health Directorate.

PwC management has previously stated that it does not wish to comment on the acquisition processes. They believe that it is natural for management to be responsible for this.