National SDHR update - July 2025

SECTOR UPDATE - Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora 

The Shared Digital Health Record is a data service designed to securely share patient data across healthcare settings. Over time, healthcare providers nationwide will be able to access and update a person's core health information through this new service.

The new national data service will be available to existing shared electronic health record (SEHR) systems and other shared patient record systems.

Phase one of the Shared Digital Health Record data service project runs until December 2025 and will enable the sourcing of data from participating general practices to the Shared Digital Health Record. It is expected that data will begin to be shared through SEHRs from early to mid-2026. 

Following this, it is planned to expand the data service to include other primary and secondary care datasets. Urgent care, emergency services and telehealth providers will have access to the new data service as a priority.

Shared Digital Health Record data – supporting patient care

The primary purpose of the new data service is to support the delivery of clinical care to New Zealanders by making their clinical record securely available to healthcare providers nationally, where and when it is needed.

The information collected for the Shared Digital Health Record data service will not be used to support system administration, planning and performance monitoring, or health system administration such as payments or claims.

Shared Digital Health Record APIs will be available to all existing SEHR suppliers

Shared Digital Health Record APIs will be on the Health New Zealand (Health NZ) Digital Services Hub and will be available to all Shared Electronic Health Record (SEHR) suppliers from the same date. Suppliers are expected to be able to onboard to the APIs to integrate with the new Shared Digital Health Record patient data service from October 2025.

Digital services suppliers are encouraged to register with the Digital Services Hub now, so they are ready to leverage the APIs once they are available. The Health NZ website has a step-by-step introduction on how to integrate software with Health NZ digital assets (Digital asset subscriber onboarding) as well as further information about the Shared Digital Health Record data service.

The onboarding process for digital services suppliers will begin once the APIs are available. More information about the Shared Digital Health Record data service is available on the Health NZ website.

Adoption of HealthOne by some lower North Island PHOs

Health NZ welcomes the decision of lower North Island primary health organisations (PHOs) Tū Ora Compass Health, Te Awakairangi Health Network, and Health Hawke’s Bay to adopt the HealthOne SEHR, enabling wider sharing of patient health information. Once in place, the health information of people from general practices with the HealthOne SEHR will be able to be securely shared between the South Island and lower North Island.

It should be noted that the HealthOne adoption and the Shared Digital Health Record are two different projects. The Shared Digital Health Record, once available, will enhance the data provided through SEHRs such as HealthOne and Your Health Summary.

HealthOne, like other SEHRs, will be able to onboard to the Shared Digital Health Record data service once it is available later this year.

Participation of general practices

General practices have the choice whether or not to participate in the Shared Digital Health Record data service. Once onboarded, participating practices will contribute data to the data service. The Shared Digital Health Record will not have access to data from practices until appropriate agreements are in place and the practice is participating.

Each practice will be guided through a practice onboarding process. More information about this process is being developed and will be shared with general practices as soon as possible.

It is expected data will begin to be sourced from participating general practices by the end of 2025 and will begin to be available through the Shared Digital Health Record from early to mid-2026.

Once the new data service is in place, general practices which use SEHRs that integrate with it will be able to access information about patients who live outside the region their SEHR currently covers. This will greatly increase the coverage and breadth of information available through existing SEHRs. Confirming privacy and security requirements The Shared Digital Health Record team is working with privacy experts, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, primary care and general practice representatives, and cyber security experts, to ensure robust security, privacy and data sharing practices are in place before data is shared. Privacy and consent information materials will be provided to general practices by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.

Engaging with healthcare consumers and primary care

Consumer engagement: Over coming months, Health NZ will be engaging with healthcare consumers so that people and their whānau have an opportunity to give feedback on the best ways we can support making their health information securely available to health professionals. We are also seeking to understand the choices and options consumers want when their health information is shared. Previous engagement with consumers, including that undertaken as part of the Hira Programme, will feed into the focus group findings.

Online focus groups with general practice: There will also be engagement with general practice in August, with a focus on participation, roles and responsibilities, privacy / control / consent and understanding the support needed to implement the new data sharing service.

What information is likely to be shared from practice management systems?

Where possible data for the Shared Digital Health Record will be sourced from existing national collections, such as the Aotearoa Immunisation Record. This data will be enhanced with important clinical information that exists solely in practice management systems (PMSs). This information includes allergies, adverse reactions, conditions, encounters and observations. Information in clinical notes (consultation, progress notes, etc) and any information marked as ‘sensitive’ will not be shared.

PMS technical releases relating to Shared Digital Health Record – no action needed

Some PMS suppliers have begun including information or checkboxes in technical releases relating to future data collection for the Shared Digital Health Record. These are currently inactive. General practices do not need to take any action in relation to them at this time.

Source: Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora media release

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