Data and digital critical to health – Lester Levy

eHealthNews.nz: National Systems & Strategy

Data and digital critical to health – Lester Levy

Tuesday, 11 June 2024

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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The role of data and digital in health systems is critical and few industry sectors have the potential to be changed so profoundly by digital and exponential technologies as healthcare, says the new board chair of Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora.

Lester Levy has been appointed chair of the Board of Health NZ, following the resignation of Karen Poutasi in April.

Levy is a medical doctor and a Professor of Digital Health Leadership at AUT. He took up his new role for a two-year term on 1 June 2024.

He tells eHealthNews there will be many examples of Health NZ deploying technologies to enhance patient and clinician experience and, given the advancing technology landscape, there will need to be more.

“In my view Health New Zealand needs to be very progressive and prioritise the accelerating advancement of digital and exponential health technologies, but from the perspective of truly adding value to clinicians and patients, rather than being captured by technological solutionism,” he says.

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Levy adds that contemporary health systems generally face two main headwinds - funding and workforce.

“Digital health and exponential health technologies are not the complete answer to how best to deal with these headwinds but they are one of the more credible options,” he says.

“Data is effectively the ‘oxygen’ for progressing health systems and making them sustainable with big data being the effective platform for digital and exponential health technologies.”

Levy says one of the critical components of digital health leadership is self-awareness, and this is “particularly acute in the context of digital health because of the ever-present hype (and hope) that inevitably surrounds digital and exponential health technologies”.

Self-regulation is another critical component of digital health leadership.

“Self-regulation allows a leader to occupy the middle ground between the ‘uncritical lover (of ideas)’ and the ‘unloving critic (of ideas’) which is so important in any technology space to make coherent and value based decisions.”

Levy has previously chaired Auckland, Waitematā and Counties Manukau DHBs, and acted as Crown Monitor at Canterbury DHB.

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti said Levy will provide strong leadership to Health NZ through a period of ongoing change.

“The challenges Health NZ faces are a result of the poorly planned health reforms of the last government and have highlighted to me the urgent need for further transformation,” Reti said.

“Professor Levy is well suited to help meet these challenges through his background in leading organisational performance transformation in both the public and private sectors.

When asked whether under his leadership, the board of Health NZ will look to further its use of data and digital tools to build a sustainable, equitable and high quality healthcare system, Levy told eHealthNews that boards act collectively, but he certainly hopes so.

Picture: Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora board chair Lester Levy