CiLN Advisory Panel Update – November 2021

NEWS – CiLN Update for Chair Alex Kemp

Kia ora koutou,

Well, what a year it has been. I would be remiss if I didn’t start by sending support to those of you based in Auckland, Northland, and Waikato, and acknowledge the sacrifice you have all made during the recent lockdowns, to keep the rest of Aotearoa safe. Kei konā kei a koutou nga whakaaro.

The COVID-19 resurgence, and the move to living with COVID-19 in the community, I am sure, has taken considerable space in our minds lately, both at home and work. We cannot underestimate the value that Clinical Informatics has and will continue to have in this space. From being key in developing COVID-19 passports, to shared information systems to enable individualised care in the community across multiple services, to ramping up virtual care to enable fast and appropriate access to support, our value as clinicians within the space of digital and data in Aotearoa has never been so evident. My plea to you is do not forget to capture, however you can, the added value our role has at this time.

This newsletter is the last of this year, and my first to you as the newly elected Chair of CiLN. We have undergone quite a transformation this year, with a bit more strengthening of our relationship with HiNZ and a tightening of the structure and purpose within the CiLN Advisory Panel. We had our first election this year, so we now have elected panel members.

I would like to take a moment to thank the Advisory Panel members who have stepped down over the past year for various reasons, and to thank those that have stepped in temporarily. Karen Blake and Karen Day, for your leadership and vision as Wahine toa in this space, thank you. Jon Herries, your dedication and knowledge as MOH liaison has been greatly valued. Gary McNicholl, Katrina Azer, Greig Russell, thank you all for stepping in to support when we needed you the most.

The Advisory Panel for the 2021/2022 year is:

• Alex Kemp (Chair)
• Kate Yeo
• Emily Gill
• Nathan Billing
• Tamzin Brott
• Steve Earnshaw
• Karen Shaw
• Mat Baily
• Jerome Ng
• Nathan Kershaw (CiLN nominated Community Platform Lead)
• Nic Quilty (HiNZ nominated Network Co-ordinator)
• Becky George (MoH liaison nominated by DDG Digital and Data in the Ministry of Health)

We had our inaugural meeting last week, and I have to say I was excited by the calibre of Advisory Panel members we have who have been willing to contribute to this group, and the direction CiLN is moving in. We hope to work closely with you to develop this further at digital health week next year, where I will be speaking at both the eAllied and eNursing & Midwifery workshops, and also during a dedicated CiLN session. Watch this space.

For those of you who aren’t aware, HiNZ provides a lot of support to CiLN, which includes the following:

• Funding the eHealth FORUM, CiLN’s home, to enable collaboration
• Organising in-person networking events (when COVID-19 allows)
• Providing a dedicated resource to coordinate the Advisory Panel (tasks include setting up governance structures, arranging meetings, drafting meeting agendas, taking meeting minutes, making sure actions are completed)
• Creating and distributing the CiLN members newsletter
• Running the Annual CiLN Award
• Funding the CiLN member lapel pins

For those of you who aren’t HiNZ members, you are receiving this support for free. I therefore strongly encourage you to become a HiNZ member.

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Karl Cole, the winner of the CiLN award this year. I had the privilege of being on a webinar with Karl not long ago, and his mix of clear expertise and approachability was a real hit. Karl didn’t want a big fuss made of this – I hear this is typical of Karl – but I couldn’t go past acknowledging his huge commitment to Clinical Informatics. Well deserved, Karl. Read more about him in this newsletter and in the March 2022 issue of CONNECT.

I hope many of you will be able to find time to take a break and spend time doing things that are important to you, with people that matter to you this Christmas. I look forward to meeting many of you in person next year.

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Ta Hau

Alex

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

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