NZ to create world-leading ecosystem of digital health innovation

eHealthNews.nz: National Systems & Strategy

NZ to create world-leading ecosystem of digital health innovation

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The government wants New Zealand to create a world-leading ecosystem of digital health innovation, Labour MP Sarah Pallett said at the MTANZ HealthTech Conference.

Pallett, who is a member of the health select committee, spoke at the Auckland conference on June 28, in place of Health Minister Andrew Little, who was unwell.

She said the system has been poorly served by a fragmented approach to technology - driven by multiple PHOs and DHBs - and data and digital is key to unlocking the potential of the health sector to deliver on the government’s ambition.

On Friday July 1 the new national entities Health NZ and the Māori Health Authority are established.

Pallett described this as generational change and said health IT will be critical to the future of a sustainable system.

“The government’s ambition is much more than digitising what’s already being done. We want to see an ecosystem of digital health innovation that makes New Zealand a world leader in the field and New Zealand patients amongst the best cared for.”

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She said Covid-19 was the catalyst for a major shift in the way data and digital capability is used to support the health of New Zealanders and patients expect new ways of being able to connect with health services.

Sarah Pallet “New Zealanders want access to health information, support and services closer to home and in their own homes,” she said.

The government has two key focus areas in the data and digital space. The first is investing in the necessary infrastructure and foundations to support the reform shift towards new models of care.

Second, to transform people, whānau and workforce experience of care through digital services.

She said Health NZ will deliver data and digital solutions nationally, regionally and locally.

There is no intention to centrally manage all solutions, but mechanisms will be in place to “ensure coherence at a system level”.

There will also be a focus on cybersecurity. A review of the Waikato DHB cyber-attack is expected soon and will be publicly released “in due course”, Pallett said.