Outdated technology is holding back state-run health systems and federal agencies, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated issues that date back decades, Kaiser Health News reported Feb. 1.
The pandemic exposed legacy technology systems government public health agencies and healthcare professionals have had to use, a stark contrast to rollouts in the private sector. Matt Salo, director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, told KHN these setbacks are "the next great challenge that government has to solve."
During the pandemic, vaccination sign-up sites in several states were quickly overrun and plagued with a host of technical issues that disadvantaged some with disabilities, including blind people. The state of Georgia struggled to keep COVID-19 case and vaccination numbers accurate as the old system buckled under the amount of data. And according to a 2019 McKinsey assessment, Missouri's Medicaid system is partially built on a mainframe from the 1970s.
To address the problem, some lawmakers are calling for unspent COVID-19 relief aid to be funneled toward improving the technology. In Wisconsin, the governor has directed the state set aside $80 million to update the unemployment portal, and Missouri lawmakers are looking to use leftover COVID-19 relief funds to update the state's Department of Social Services benefits program.