Internal memo to physicians reveals problems with AIMS continue to delay doctors’ pay
The Opposition NDP in Saskatchewan is calling on the provincial government to launch an investigation into the issues surrounding the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) payroll system.
“We need that investigation to be able to know what’s went wrong, what needs correcting, and how deep the problems go. There’s been such a lack of transparency on this. We need to open that up,” said Vicki Mowat, health critic with the NDP, referring to the SHA’s Administrative Information Management System (AIMS), according to a Global News report.
The NDP said the recent payroll issues for health-care workers in Saskatchewan are only “causing more chaos” in the stressed system and it is calling on the province to conduct an investigation.
“Stuff like this are (the) reasons that we have some of the worst retention rates for health care workers in the entire country,” said Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck in the report.
Previously, a healthcare worker revealed that the SHA’s claim that all missing pay have been delivered to workers was not true.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 5430 has raised concerns over the AIMS payroll system, saying that workers are missing “hundreds, even upwards of a thousand dollars in some cases, on their paycheques” because of it.
SHA admits issues with AIMS persist
An internal memo from SHA to SHA physicians admitted that the issues persist.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this delay may have caused. We recognize that even a short delay in payments can cause stress and pressures. While the majority of invoice payments are being successfully processed and paid, a small number of physician invoices have been delayed,” read part of the memo dated Aug. 8, 2024, published by CBC.
The memo also noted that the SHA’s finance department is “working tirelessly to troubleshoot the issue that caused this unexpected situation”.
“An AIMS physician payment task team is currently working hard to resolve current and future barriers.”
(Insert photo: Memo)
Source: CBC
3sHealth, the company behind the AIMS payroll system, also acknowledges the rollout has had its flaws.
“Health system leaders want to acknowledge that the AIMS rollout has caused some frustration for end users and employees. We are highly committed to resolving the remaining issues as soon as possible,” 3sHealth said, according to Global News.
“A small number of physician invoices have been delayed during the transition. Some payments are already flowing and the remaining ones being processed.”
This problem is taking place as the number of Canadians who are struggling financially today is bigger than the comparable data recorded when the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, according to a report from Statistics Canada (StatCan).
On top of the delayed payments, one of the biggest problems is that there is no easy way for staff to report issues with the AIMS system, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses said in the Global News report. The union has heard from around 300 nurses who have experienced delayed payments due to the system.
“There is no human being at the end of the day that you can actually speak to. And the advice given is that just continue to submit your issue,” said Tracy Zambory, union president.