HNZ aims for 10 percent digital care delivery by mid-2025

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora has set a goal to have at least 10 percent of care delivered via digital channels by June 2025. 

Current levels of outpatient attendances completed via telephone or video are seven percent, slightly up from 6.7 percent in quarter three.

The organisation’s Quarterly Performance Report for April-June 2024 says “each district is to include increasing delivery of care through virtual and telehealth modes that will be monitored through regional and national performance frameworks. 

“The goal is for each district to deliver at least 10 per cent of care through digital channels by quarter four 2024/25.”

The report says this is a particular area of opportunity in regions where there is a larger rural population such as Te Waipounamu, which has the highest proportion of hospital outpatient appointments delivered digitally at 10.3 percent. The Northern region has the lowest at 5.7 percent.

However, it also highlights data showing Pacific peoples are significantly less likely to receive care through digital channels at just 5.1 percent compared to 7.4 percent for the ‘European/ other’ ethic group and 6.5 percent for Māori.

Kyle Eggleton, director of the Rural Health Unit at Auckland University, says that having  “blanket targets, without a strategy, will always result in disparities”.

“Is bias at play on who is offered clinic appointments? Is it lower access to internet? No mention is made in the quarterly report on the strategies to increase Pacific peoples access to telehealth,” he says.

Eggleton says he is unaware of any modelling being done by Health NZ on what proportion of clinic appointments is appropriate per district and he would expect districts with large rural populations would have different targets. 

He is also unaware of any national strategy on telehealth and says there is limited training to students, registrars and vocationally registered doctors on how to safely and appropriately undertake telehealth.

Rachel Haggerty, Health NZ co-director, funding – hospitals, says the internal target of 10 percent is a national aggregate, as opportunities and service levels vary in different parts of the country.

“We are continuing to engage with Pacific and Māori services to explore individual service needs and wait times to ensure digital options serve the needs of all population groups,” she says.

“Our health target implementation plan, which includes delivery of care via digital channels, requires us to have national oversight of our performance and balancing measures in place.”

Image: Patient Janice McDrury in a telehealth consultation with Southern DHB Endocrinologist Professor Patrick Manning

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