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Government's Digital Reset Plan identifies major hurdles for health sector tech delivery

14 July; 2026

A rapid review of digital delivery across government singles out Health New Zealand as facing “major hurdles in delivering tech and service innovation – despite the huge productivity opportunity in health spending”.

NATIONAL SYSTEMS & STRATEGY

Pacific health provider cuts nurse travel time in half with AI-powered RPM tool

13 July; 2026

A Wellington-based Pacific health provider has halved nurse travel time after deploying an AI-powered remote monitoring tool that allows patients to submit their vitals, food logs and health updates from home through WhatsApp.

DIGITAL PATIENT

NZ Health Group processes 2 million calls using AI-Powered contact centre

9 July; 2026

Home and community care provider New Zealand Health Group has implemented automation and AI into its service centres that process over 2 million calls annually.

AI & ANALYTICS

New law regulating AI and SaMD in force late 2029 at earliest

3 July; 2026

A two-year transition period is planned before the new Medical Products Bill takes effect, which will regulate software as a medical device - including artificial intelligence used for therapeutic purposes.

NATIONAL SYSTEMS & STRATEGY

Connected devices lead Medsafe to rethink safety alerts

3 July; 2026

The rapid rise of connected medical devices such as continuous glucose monitors and smartphone apps that control insulin pumps is leading New Zealand's medicines regulator to rethink how patients get critical safety alerts and recall notices.

DIGITAL PATIENT

Features

Kiwis increasingly turn to AI for health advice, but trust remains low

10 June; 2026

Feature - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth
One in five New Zealanders now turns to artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude as their first port of call for health information but trust in AI-generated health advice remains low at just 28 percent, according to Stuff's inaugural Health of the Nation study.

DIGITAL PATIENT

Analytics and near real-time data drive transformation at Health NZ

26 May; 2026

Industry Innovation Article - Acumen BI
Health New Zealand has consolidated multiple systems inherited from over 20 supporting subsidiaries, District Health Boards and the Ministry of Health covering clinical, finance, payroll, supply chain, procurement and asset management data.

AI & ANALYTICS

Views

My View - What Renji Smart Hospital shows us about AI's future in healthcare

15 July; 2026

During a recent visit to RenJi Smart Hospital in Shanghai, clinical renal physiologist Jason Wei had the opportunity to see what happens when AI moves beyond the pilot stage and becomes embedded in everyday clinical practice.

AI & ANALYTICS

My View - Right-sizing identity for a workforce that doesn't fit the org chart

30 June; 2026

New Zealand's health workforce identity problem isn't a technology gap, it is a paradigm that assumes every worker has one employer, one mailbox and one career. The data says otherwise, writes Fellow of HiNZ Samuel Wong.

WORKFORCE