NSW's Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) project, one of the state government's largest technology initiatives, proceeded with a business case that failed to include critical integration costs and lacked evidence for operational expenses, according to the NSW Auditor-General.

The business case, initially developed in 2021, did not capture the estimated cost of integrating the SDPR system with legacy systems that will remain in use across the health network.

"This integration process is crucial for the successful implementation of the SDPR system and early indicators suggest that these integration costs will be significant," the Auditor-General's report states.

The report warns that "unsupported or unapproved cost estimates increases the risk of budget overruns and misinformed decisions."

The Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority (SDPRIA) was established in May 2024 as a division of the Health Administration Corporation to oversee delivery and implementation of the project, which aims to provide clinicians with realtime access to patient medical information from a single source.

The operational cost estimates included provisions for implementation-related expenses across local health districts and in-scope health entities, but "this estimate was not supported by robust documentation due to limited cost information available at the time," according to the report.

The Auditor-General noted that "project costs may be understated by not assessing and identifying all implementation costs during project planning."

The SDPRIA recently awarded a contract worth $A83 million to RLDatix Galen Australia for a statewide data archive solution,

A performance audit is planned for 2026-27 to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the project implementation.