An electronic records system used by health-care providers in Manitoba needs to be improved, according to the province's auditor general.

Norm Ricard says the eChart system is lacking critical health information that it was supposed to contain when a five-year strategy was created in 2007.

Dr. Denis Fortier is Vice-President of Medical Services for Southern Health and a proponent of eChart.

He said the comments made by Manitoba's auditor general don't surprise him since most health officials understand that eChart is a work in progress.

"I don't know that we've ever felt like there's something glaring that's missing. We've always known it's deficient, we've always based the way we practice with the notion that it's an imperfect tool at the moment, but that we would continue to build on it as the years went by."

For instance, the auditor general pointed out that information such as a record of allergies is not contained in the electronic system, but that's not a huge problem for healthcare providers who access eCharts on a regular basis, according to Fortier.

"That's OK because we always ask about allergies and until we're absolutely certain eChart is on top of it and has the correct information, we should continue to ask about allergies. So, we understand that there are deficiencies in certain information, but I like to use the expression that Rome was not built in a day and eChart in its final form will not of been built in a day either."

Fortier said eChart is expensive to develop, which is why the province has chosen to build it over time, adding critical parts to it as funding becomes available.

"It's going to take time and money to build it up to where we want it to be ... and I think having the auditor general review the system gives us some guidance on where we need to go and what information should be addressed maybe sooner than later."