Porirua PHO trialling predictive analytics to detect respiratory risk

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

Ora Toa PHO is trialling a predictive analytics approach to help identify people at higher risk of undiagnosed respiratory conditions and support earlier outreach, review, and care. 

The primary health organisation is working with Swevnz® Research Science LP to combine patient management system (PMS) data with geospatial and socioeconomic information through the Swevnz® predictive analytics capability. 

Michael Rongo, director of health at Ora Toa, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, presented the PHO's work at the Digital Health Leadership Forum in Wellington on 12 May 2026. 

He said the approach is designed to help Ora Toa better understand unmet need, emerging risk and where earlier support may be helpful. 

"We use this predictive approach to help us better understand unmet need and where health risks might be emerging," he told the forum. 

"Too often we respond once harm has already occurred or someone is vulnerable or very unwell.

Population health insights allow us to see patterns earlier: chronic conditions, service gaps, emerging risks, and areas where outreach may be needed." 

The Swevnz® capability brings together PMS data with geospatial and socioeconomic data. Its algorithm analyses the combined information to support identification of at-risk populations and areas where earlier action may be helpful. 

As part of the trial, Ora Toa has focused on respiratory conditions because they present a significant health challenge for Māori and Pacific communities, who experience higher rates of respiratory illness compared with other populations. Earlier identification can support earlier clinical review, outreach, and whānau-centred care. 

Rongo said the work with Swevnz® Research Science LP demonstrates how technology can be used to strengthen rather than replace human-centred care. He said the algorithm is a tool to help health teams identify where their attention and resources may be most needed. 

"Digital health must sit with that foundation. It needs to serve the people, not replace," he said. 

"For us, digital innovation is not about chasing technology for technology's sake, it is about asking how it strengthens mana, supports whānau to live well, helps people access care earlier, and supports greater control over their own wellbeing." 

Rongo also highlighted the Whaitua Mapping Tool, developed by Āti Awa Toa Hauora Iwi Māori Partnership Board in partnership with Te Tāhū Hauora (Health Quality & Safety Commission), noting its value in helping communities and health providers better understand the wider determinants of health. 

The tool visualises environmental, social, economic and health data across the region. It can display information such as the locations of vape shops, liquor stores and takeaway outlets and overlay this alongside school locations and deprivation index heat maps. This helps illustrate how lower socioeconomic communities are disproportionately impacted by these factors 

"Health outcomes are shaped long before someone walks through the clinic door," Rongo said. 

"Housing, environment, transport, income, education, food security, and connection all influence wellbeing." 

Rongo said digital success should not be measured by logins, dashboards, or the number of devices deployed. Instead, success should be evaluated by whether the technology saves time, avoids unnecessary travel, builds trust, and improves health outcomes. 

"If iwi are not steering the waka, then technology will reflect someone else's assumptions, someone else's values, someone else's priorities," he said. 

Image: Michael Rongo, director of health at Ora Toa, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, presenting at the Digital Health Leadership Forum, May 12.

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