Māori providers need funding for health IT

eHealthNews.nz: Infrastructure

Thursday, 29 April 2021

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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Māori health providers need funding to improve their IT infrastructure and help reduce inequities in the system, the chief executive of Hāpai Te Hauora says.

Selah Hart says many Māori providers, especially rural ones, are struggling with paper-based systems, unstable internet connections and out of date devices.

“Inequities exist in the current infrastructure and support that enables the health system to work smoothly,” Hart says.

“If you want to support our Māori providers and NGOs you have to give equitable resourcing and infrastructure to do a good job.”

The government has granted an exemption for kaimahi, non-clinical Māori health workers, to be trained to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations.

However, Hart says funding is needed “quick smart” to improve IT infrastructure at many Māori health providers to ensure they can connect to the necessary national systems and have the protocols and procedures in place to keep patient information safe.

Hāpai was funded to deliver the Psychosocial Response National Coordination Service in response to Covid-19.

The service distributed more than 1500 smartphones and data plans to clients of around 70 Māori mental health and addiction providers nationwide, to help keep people connected to health services, and their whānau, during lockdown.

“The digital divide meant that some people stayed connected and some did not,” Hart explains.

While traversing the country, her team got a good idea of the IT capabilities of the Māori providers and found many were doing poorly, as they put all their money into front line health services to support whānau in need.

Staff commented that clients were being given more modern devices than their old work mobile phones that can only text or make calls.

“They are in a bind because they know that good systems and infrastructure will make their jobs swifter and smarter,” she says.

“But if we take a step back to understand the systems and infrastructure support , those organisations are not up to scratch, as opposed to bigger organisations that are part of the health system.”

She says simple things like a paid Zoom subscription, so video calls are not cut off after 40 mins, are some of the practical things these providers need funding for.

The six-month psychosocial response contract ended in December 2020 and Hart says Hāpai is in talks with the MoH about next steps, such as a full evaluation of the project.

“It was an opportunity to remove barriers and have a real-time connection as the provider had their client’s number and the clients had credit to call or text back,” she says.

“It highlighted that so much more needs to be done.”