Healthpoint launches free AI navigation tool for NZ health services

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

Healthpoint has launched a free AI-assisted service navigation tool that helps New Zealanders find health services by describing what they need in their own words.

‘Ask Healthpoint’ uses Healthpoint's directory of 12,000 verified health services to return specific, locally relevant results such as opening hours, contact details, and whether an appointment is needed.

"It is one of the first of its kind," says Healthpoint chief executive Kate Rhind. 

"It is built to search through the trusted national health data on Healthpoint. It has been rigorously tested by both end users and service providers over the past 12 months. It is free, available now, and can be used in multiple languages."

The tool is designed for people who may not know the right clinical term or where to start. Ask Healthpoint identifies which types of services match what someone has described and presents a curated list of nearby options with practical details.

"A person could simply say or type something like 'I have a sore ear' and Ask Healthpoint will provide available options in the area," Rhind explains. 

The tool was developed over 12 months with 25 rounds of testing across more than 600 real-world scenarios, including sensitive areas such as mental health and emergency care. 

Associate health minister and minister for mental health Matt Doocey says it addresses a well-documented barrier to care. 

"Not knowing where to go or who to talk to has been reported as the reason for unmet mental health needs in one third of children and more than a quarter of adults. This new platform will help remove those barriers and guide people to the right support," Doocey says.

The tool supports te reo Māori, Samoan, and many other languages and Healthpoint says language recognition will keep improving over time.

"Ask Healthpoint is a navigation tool, not a replacement for your doctor, nurse, or helpline," Rhind says. 

"Its goal is to make it even simpler to find a health service that can help you, no matter the time of day, no matter the type of health concern, even if you don't understand medical terms or English is not your first language."

For people in rural and smaller communities, Healthpoint says the tool can make a meaningful difference by surfacing options such as online GP consultations, pharmacies, helplines, and community health providers that people may not have known were available to them.

Organisations can embed the tool on their own websites as a widget, integrated with a single line of code. 

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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