Health NZ signals EHR strategy

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora will share its Electronic Health Record (EHR) strategy with the market ahead of a 2027 business case, as part of a $300 million digital investment programme under its Health Digital Investment Plan (HDIP). 

The organisation has also recently selected an Oracle cloud platform to modernise its core business processes covering workforce, finance, procurement, and supply chain.

Health New Zealand has published an updated Notice of Future Procurement Opportunities, outlining a range of digital procurement activity under the plan.

The update says the organisation will “socialise our thinking” around the EHR programme, including strategy and possible commercial approaches, before the programme business case is completed in early 2027 and a formal Future Procurement Opportunity notice will be issued.

Work has already started on assessing options for a unified system for collecting and managing health information, so that “people's health records follow them across all care settings”, it says.

The $300 million in funding was confirmed in Budget 2026, with programmes now moving through business case development and procurement activity expected to accelerate over the coming months.

These include clinical desktop infrastructure, radiology services, corporate systems and cloud platforms.
Another $153 million in funding has been announced to expand national cybersecurity monitoring, strengthen data security processes, and deliver critical IT safety upgrades across the health system.

The HDIP is structured across six sub-portfolios: Digitally Enabled Models of Care, Clinical and Operational Experience, People and Whānau Experience, Corporate Experience, Technology, and Data and Interoperability.

The Corporate Experience programme is described as replacing fragmented, ageing systems with a single modern platform to give Health NZ better visibility and control of its resources. 

Oracle has been awarded this contract and a procurement for a Corporate Experience Advisory Partner is expected to be released soon.

Radiology has two separate procurement streams: the Radiology Stabilisation programme focuses on strengthening existing digital infrastructure while the broader Radiology Modernisation programme is established. A procurement notice for Radiology Modernisation solutions is expected in the coming months.

The Cloud Modernisation programme of work has already released RFPs to establish two panels - Cloud Implementers and Platform Providers. These have now closed and are being assessed.

Health NZ is also planning to establish a Professional Services Panel later in 2026. The Centre for Digital Modernisation of Health, which oversees HDIP delivery, will use the panel to procure professional services and Centre Capability Partners. 

The update says the Centre works closely with the Government Digital Delivery Agency GDDA, which holds a system leadership role for All-of-Government digital procurement and where possible HDIP investments should contribute to the broader digital government ecosystem.

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

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