HealthOne shared electronic health record expands Northwards

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

HealthOne, the South Island's shared electronic health record (SEHR), will expand to the lower North Island by the end of 2025. 

The expansion will initially connect general practices, community pharmacies, hospital and ambulance services to the existing South Island database. 

The project is being driven by three PHO networks; Tū Ora Compass Health, Te Awakairangi Health Network, and Health Hawke’s Bay. 

Scheduled to begin by the end of 2025, it will reach over 80 general practices across the three PHO networks, which collectively support more than 600,000 enrolled patients. 

HealthOne enables clinicians to securely view a patient’s medical history, including test results, allergies, medications, GP summaries, and hospital records. This streamlined access supports safer, faster, and more informed clinical decision-making. 

"We are extending the existing HealthOne record to the lower North Island, so the records from all of their enrolled patients will feed through," says Rachael Page, HealthOne general manager.  

"We are not having a North and a South, we are building on the single HealthOne record." 

Page says the platform has operated for around 13 years, with consistent monthly usage that matches presentations to healthcare facilities throughout the region. 

HealthOne connects to the South Island’s single hospital clinical portal, Health Connect South, and will begin integration with the regional portals covering the lower North Island as part of the expansion. 

She explains that many top of the South Island patients are transferred to Wellington's tertiary hospital, while Canterbury also receives numerous North Island patients at its leading tertiary hospital. 

"Just that one use case demonstrates the need for a shared record," she says. 

While the first phase is to onboard general practice, community pharmacy, emergency services and hospitals in the region, the intention is to bring on other organisations over time as they request it. 

A dedicated project team is being established to lead this initiative, and the PHOs are collaborating closely with others across Te Ikaroa Central Region to support a broader implementation of HealthOne. 

“Accessing patient information in the North Island has long been a challenge due to the variety of software systems and access limitations,” says Matthew Lord, chief information officer for Tū Ora and Health Hawke’s Bay. 

“Given HealthOne’s proven success in Te Waipounamu (South Island), it makes perfect sense to bring this solution to our region. 

“HealthOne not only meets but enhances our privacy and security standards, with robust, automated auditing of all access to patient records,” he says.  

Darren Douglass, acting chief information technology officer for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora says the move is a significant and positive step forward for the health system. 

“Health New Zealand welcomes the rollout, which will enable clinicians to securely access the health information they need to provide safer, faster, and better-informed care for people in the areas covered,” says Douglass. 

HealthOne is a SEHR, which is separate to, but will ultimately integrate with, the Shared Digital Health Record (SDHR) national patient data service being developed by Health NZ.  

Originally due to go-live in June 2025, the SDHR has been delayed until this December and will initially enhance and increase covering of existing regional SEHRs, such as HealthOne, Your Health Summary and TestSafe, by providing access to national data collections. 

Health NZ says that following integration, users including general practice, will be able to access information about patients who live outside the region their SEHR system currently covers. Data sharing is not expected to begin until early to mid-2026. 

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