A joint investigation by HD-Sydsvenskan and Sjukhusläkaren has revealed that Region Skåne's controversial Millennium medical records system failed to meet mandatory patient safety requirements but was approved anyway by the region's IT procurement officials. The system, which has cost over 2.2 billion kronor to date, should have been disqualified from the procurement process eight years ago according to the investigation.
The Millennium system did not fulfill one of the region's obligatory requirements for patient safety - specifically that the system must comply with EU requirements for medical technology products and be correctly CE-marked. Despite this failure, the bid was approved by the region's IT procurement staff.
This cannot go on like this. It is extremely serious,
Region Skåne's board chairman Carl Johan Sonesson (M) has expressed serious concerns following the revelations. "This cannot go on like this. It is extremely serious," Sonesson stated. He has contacted the regional director to investigate what happened during the procurement process and has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to address the issue.
Sonesson noted that his confidence in being able to implement Millennium in Skåne has decreased after reading the investigative articles. The system has been delayed multiple times and has not yet been implemented in the region, despite the massive investment.
The investigation also found that while Millennium was approved despite safety shortcomings, the main competitor was rejected for forgetting to sign a non-obligatory document. Millennium was then presented to politicians as the only approved alternative.