HealthSmart boss resigns

The public servant in charge of Victoria's mammoth HealthSmart electronic health initiative has resigned for what the state's health department today said were personal reasons.

Fiona Wilson had led the troubled project since mid-2003 in her capacity as the director of the Office of Health Information Systems within the Victorian Department of Human Services. However a spokesperson for the department told ZDNet.com.au tonight that Wilson had grown weary of the regular commute from Auckland where her partner resided.

HealthSmart was initially funded as a four-year, $320 million project to update IT systems in hospitals and other medical facilities right across the entire state. However the state's auditor-general Des Pearson found earlier this year that it was running late and substantially over budget.

The state government recently allocated a further $104 million to the project.

The spokesperson praised Wilson's contribution to HealthSmart as "fantastic" and stressed that the personal reasons had spurred her departure, which will take effect towards the end of October.

No replacement has yet been appointed. Wilson's office is a separate entity within the department from the office of Andrew Howard, the departmental chief information officer.