CiLN Advisory Panel Update – May 2021

NEWS – CiLN Update from Co-Chair Alex Kemp

What an exciting time to be in Health Informatics! It feels like an age since my co-chair, Nathan, last wrote to you in March.

I was thrilled to attend two of the three HiNZ Digital Health Leadership summits, and see such a great community of minds working together to generate ideas for an equitable digital health future. It was especially promising to see such strong Clinical leadership present, and a promise for the future of what true partnership between Clinical and Technical leaders could look like in health.  

A strong focus on equity, and how we can work in the digital and data space to improve equity, was led by Shayne Hunter and echoed by many of our panellists.  

Early April saw the release of NZHITs report “Enabling a Healthier Aotearoa NZ”. A great report, with strong recommendations for a more agile, connected, consumer focussed approach to digital and data across Health and Disability. To see the themes of equity and partnership so clearly highlighted was reassuring.

I, like many of you I presume, listened intently to the announcement by Minister Andrew Little on April 21st, where he outlined the NZ Health system reforms. It is reassuring to hear that digital and data are identified as a key enabler of health reforms.  

Whilst some of the structure of the new Health System has been decided, most has not, and there is great opportunity for us as a leadership network show the added value of embedding Clinical Informatics across the new Health System.

This week, the advisory panel will be meeting to decide key working groups to ensure Clinical informatics has a clear voice as reforms progress. We cannot do this alone, so a call to collective action is needed.  

We will be reliant on you all to be actively involved in these groups so we can be partners in design. Watch out for invites to groups over the next few weeks.

If you would like to provide feedback on this update, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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