Department of Health Services - Sunset Factors

The Office of the Auditor General has performed audit work to address the 12 statutory Sunset Factors for the Department of Health Services. These factors accompany a series of five performance audit reports issued previously on the Department in 1998 and 1999: the Division of Assurance and Licensure Services (Report No. 98-17); the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (Report No. 99-6); the Arizona State Hospital (Report No. 99-9); the Tobacco Education and Prevention Program (Report No. 99-17); and the Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control Services (Report No. 99-18).

In conducting our audits of DHS, we repeatedly found that the Department has inadequate information technology support for many of its functions. In fact, many of the problems identified in our audits could be at least partly attributed to this inadequate support. An inability to recruit and retain qualified programmers has hampered the Division of Information Technology Services’ ability to meet the Department’s technology needs. In December 1998, 40 of 120 funded positions were vacant within the Division.