U.K. Health System IT Upgrade Called A 'Disaster'

Called "the greatest IT disaster in history" one London columnist, the U.K. National Health Services' program to create nationwide e-health records and upgrade the medical system's IT infrastructure is in trouble. Britain's Labor government says the program will end up costing more than $55 billion--a whopping $26 billion over budget.

The project, run by Accenture, Computer Sciences Corp., Fujitsu, and others, has been plagued by software problems and resistance from physicians. The vendors face big penalties if deadlines aren't met. In March, Accenture took a $450 million earnings hit as a result. It's enough to make you sick.