Mobile health round-up: September

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eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

New national telehealth stocktake

The New Zealand Telehealth Forum is undertaking another national telehealth stocktake, starting in October. It will survey DHBs, PHOs, GPs and NGOs and update the findings from the last one held in 2014.

A new Primary and Integrated Care working group will also provide clinical leadership in supporting and monitoring telehealth uptake by GPs and community services. A Forum spokesperson says significant improvements have been achieved in videoconferencing interconnectivity across providers and networks, and a national videoconferencing directory is being implemented.  

The Forum’s advocacy group is working with professional and regulatory bodies on telehealth position statements. A recent collaboration resulted in a comprehensive statement for the Allied Health sector. The Forum’s Telehealth Leadership Group is also collaborating with NZ Health IT’s virtual health industry group in several areas, including promotion of emerging consumer-focused technologies and guidelines for telemonitoring services.

Zoom Pharmacy contracts with seven DHBs

Zoom Pharmacy has contracts with seven DHBs – West Coast, Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Canterbury and Southern – to deliver publicly funded medicines to patients.

The ZOOM app allows patients to order repeat prescriptions to their door and pharmacists to monitor a patient’s medication adherence. The app is also now available as an option on the patient portal ConnectMed.

A Zoom pharmacist says new app functionality makes ordering repeat prescriptions easier as it allows patients to select ‘Request repeat’, located by their medicine, with no need to make a phone call.

SPARX e-therapy programme garners international interest

An online therapy developed by researchers at the University of Auckland is attracting significant interest internationally. The programme is aimed at 12–19-year-olds with mild-to-moderate depression and/or anxiety and delivers treatment through what looks like a fantasy game. It has been proven in a large randomised controlled trial to be as effective as routine care.

National Institute for Health Innovation general manager Karen Carter says SPARX is now licensed and available for sale in Japan. A large research project has also been funded in Canada to develop and test an Inuit version of SPARX, called iSPARX. 

SPARX teaches five ways of protecting against depression: problem solving, being active, positive cognition, social skills and relaxation.

Well Child app upgraded

The Well Child app has been upgraded to make it more intuitive and personalised. Developed in 2016 as part the Nelson Marlborough Health Maternal and Child Health Integration project, the app helps parents manage the health and wellbeing of their tamariki (children).

Parents can upload a photo of their child and enter their details. The app then uses the child’s date of birth to automatically set reminders for Well Child check-ups and vaccinations.

The Well Child 2.0 version also sends parents and caregivers personalised health and wellness information according to the age of their child.

Health Navigator adds new categories to app library

Health Navigator has added several new categories to its health app library, including the following:

• Mental health and wellbeing apps for teenagers and young people – four apps (two developed in New Zealand) for anxiety, stress, depression and mental health in teenagers and young people.
•  Eating disorder apps – two apps that could be used alongside treatment with a health professional.
• Parenting apps – two apps designed in New Zealand to assist with the sometime challenging role of parenting.
• Period (menstrual cycle) tracking apps – two apps that help women to track their periods.

Any ideas for new categories for the library can be emailed to Sandra.

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