Digital central to new Health Plan

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

The New Zealand Health Plan positions digital as a key enabler of the health system, but the Auditor-General has criticised it for not fully meeting the requirements of the Pae Ora Act.

The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora document has been tabled in parliament and sets the direction for the health sector’s digital and data journey until June 2027. 

“Enablers are the key parts of the health system that make it possible to provide care and treatment,” it says. 

“They include our workforce, buildings including hospitals, and the technology and digital platforms our staff use to provide timely and quality health care.” 

The New Zealand Health Plan builds on the interim Te Pae Tata plan and aligns with the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Health 2024–2027 and was developed under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022.

However Auditor-General John Ryan says in a ‘disclaimer of opinion’ included in the publication that while it identifies desired health outcomes, priorities, and targets, it lacks a clear explanation of how proposed actions were selected or how they will achieve those goals. 

The plan also fails to provide a fully costed approach to publicly funded services, with insufficient detail on service demand, resource needs, and forecast costs, Ryan says.

The new Health Plan acknowledges the health system’s fragmented and ageing technology, and says “clinical and non-clinical services that are well supported by data and digital services are essential to improve health services. 

“Our aim is to modernise and improve our health data and digital platforms, processes and standards," it says.

According to the plan, year one will see the agreement of a long-term investment strategy for digital modernisation and expansion of specialist care at home using digital tools to reduce hospital admissions.

eHealthNews reported in April 2025 that Health NZ’s Digital Investment Plan would be released ‘later this year’, despite it previously being due in late 2024.

The plan says that over the first two years, data services will be enhanced to improve access for planning, reporting, and integrated care delivery. 

By year three, patients will have more digital options to access and manage their own health information, and public radiology services will be upgraded to ensure national reporting and stable platforms.

“Future planning includes enabling access to services that are closer to home, and expanding the use of digital, telehealth and prevention services,” it says in relation to rural communities.

One of the ‘output measures’ will be improvements in the clinical digital and physical infrastructure and specific measures are; First Specialist Assessment and follow up outpatient appointments delivered via telehealth; and increased access to My Health Record, it says.

Read it online here.

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