GP early adopters pilot Shared Digital Health Record

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

The Shared Digital Health Record service is being piloted with four early adopter general practices, with further roll-out to primary care planned from the start of 2026.

The pilot runs until January next year and is initially focused on collecting information from the patient record on allergies and intolerances, conditions and observations.

In the future the SDHR will also incorporate existing national data services for medicines, from the Medicines Data Repository, and immunisations, via the Aotearoa Immunisation Register.

Once launched, healthcare providers will be able to use their existing shared electronic health record system or clinical portal to access core patient information nationwide.

Heath Tolley, portfolio group manager, digital enablers and integration, says future developments will involve collecting information on patient encounters and clinical notes, but there is more work to be done in this space.

SDHR is an opt-out record: patients are automatically included, or they can choose to mark specific records as confidential, opt-out at a practice level, or request a national opt-out through Health NZ.

Tolley says recent focus group research shows many Kiwis either think this kind of sharing already exists or are supportive of it for direct patient care.

Practices must let patients know about the service and provide a minimum three-week opt-out period before beginning data collection and Health NZ has created information posters and brochures which are being trialled by the early adopter GPs.

Tolley says early feedback from pilot practices has been positive and is helping Health NZ with its messaging for different regions, which have different levels of information sharing already in place.

The national rollout to practices from early next year will be led by Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) and will involve Health NZ signing information sharing agreements with around 800 practice owners, covering the country's 1,200 - 1,300 general practices.

The aim is for a critical mass of adoption by June 2026 to allow the SDHR to go live through existing regional shared record systems such as HealthOne, Your Health Summary and indici SEHR.

"The focus is on building up the data set so there is critical mass of patient data available.

"The last thing we want is to release the service and a clinician go to access a patient’s shared record, but find there is nothing there."

Tolley says the service will be particularly useful for emergency and after-hours care providers, including telehealth, as they often do not have access to shared record systems.

He says the team has been working with practice management system vendors, to technically prepare for direct data sharing from their systems.

Hear more from Heath Tolley about the SDHR on Tuesday 25 November at Digital Health Week in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Check out the programme online and register today. 

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