The FDA needs to fully implement key management practices to mitigate IT modernization risks, GAO has said after assessing the status of IT systems and IT management practices, as well as data sharing among key systems.
The agency spent about $400 million for IT investments in fiscal 2011 but it lacks a comprehensive IT inventory that identifies and provides key information about the systems it uses and is developing, according to GAO-12-346.
It said the agency instead cites budget documents required by OMB, which included information on 44 IT investments for fiscal 2011, and it provided a partial list of 21 mission-critical systems and modernization initiatives.
While FDA officials acknowledge that the documents do not identify all FDA’s systems or the complete costs, purpose, or status of each system, the Department of Health and Human Services was non-committal regarding recommendations for FDA to develop a comprehensive inventory of its IT systems, develop an integrated master schedule for a major modernization effort, and assess information needs to identify opportunities for greater sharing.
Nonetheless the report notes that the FDA has initiatives under way to improve its data sharing with internal and external partners, including adoption of an enterprise-wide standard for formatting data and several projects aimed at enhancing its ability to share data.
