My View - Health NZ’s digital modernisation programmes pick up pace

VIEW - Darren Douglass, Acting Chief Information Technology Officer

It's great to see momentum build across the Health Digital Investment Plan (HDIP), with $300 million from Budget 2026 enabling us to tackle some of the digital challenges that have held the health system back for years. We're now in a position to make real progress.

Much of the technology our health system currently uses is fragmented and outdated, making it harder to share information, respond to growing demand and introduce new services. The HDIP will move Health NZ to modern, secure and reliable national platforms where: 

• clinicians can access the information they need more easily (with less time spent navigating fragmented systems, logging into multiple applications and managing manual workarounds) 
  
• patients experience more connected care (without needing to repeat their medical history and personal information, as health records follow them across different services). 
  

Modernisation programmes 

We're moving forward with several priority programmes, subject to business case approvals, including: 

• Radiology Modernisation: Modern radiology systems – improving how radiology images and information are shared across the health system – will enable the delivery of critical clinical services nationwide, while streamlined workflows will give clinicians faster access to imaging information to support safer, more informed decisions. 
  
• Clinical Desktop: Moving our workforce onto a single, modern Health NZ desktop. This involves: 
  
  • introducing new access tools that make it easier for staff to securely access the critical systems and information they need, wherever they're working 
    
  • expanding tap on/tap off access so staff can quickly pick up where they left off as they move between workstations, reducing interruptions and saving valuable time in clinical environments 
    
  • replacing or upgrading nearly 80,000 ageing devices, while upgrading around 100,000 staff to Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 across 275 sites. 

These measures will also create foundations for further modernisation work. 

• National Corporate Platform: Replacing fragmented, ageing core corporate services (workforce, finance, procurement and supply chain systems) with a single modern platform. This will give Health NZ better visibility and control of its resources to support decision-making, reduce duplication and administrative burden, and free up more time and funding to support the delivery of frontline health services.  
  
• Core Clinical Modernisation: The strategic case, currently being developed and due for consideration later this year, explores how clinical teams can move away from fragmented systems and paper-based information towards a more connected, trusted and intuitive digital experience. The aim is to ensure information is available when and where it’s needed, support better co-ordination of care, and create a foundation for future innovation and new models of care. 
  

While we build for the future, we also need today's systems to remain safe, secure and reliable.  
Stabilisation work is being carried out to update aging systems and servers to improve resilience, keep patient data more secure, and ensure clinical services run safely and reliably while the modernisation programmes are being progressed. 

Other key programmes delivering improvements include:  

• Centric roll out: Digital clinical workflow tools that replace paper notes and observation charts with electronic documentation and real-time patient information. Centric is now live across most of Gisborne Hospital, and in some wards across Waikato Hospital, where clinicians have completed more than 120,000 digital notes. 
  
• Hospital medicines management: Consolidating eight hospital pharmacy systems into four regional platforms, each becoming the foundation for regional electronic prescribing and administration. ePharmacy handles around 6.4 million medication transactions a year, across roughly 80 percent of hospital admissions. Te Manawa Taki completed its regional upgrade in May 2026 with Central, Northern and Te Waipounamu progressing. MedChart went live at Te Nīkau Hospital on the West Coast recently, replacing paper medication charts across all inpatient wards. 
  
• Cortex roll out: A clinical care co-ordination platform that replaces paper documentation with electronic workflows available at the bedside. South Canterbury has completed testing and is rolling out Cortex across its inpatient wards and emergency department. 
  
• Shared Digital Health Record: This new data service will enable healthcare providers to access, and later update, a person's core health information across care settings nationally through existing shared electronic health records and other shared patient record systems. It will collect and share health information held by general practice, urgent care and telehealth services. It will also collect information from national Health NZ databases. Individuals will be able to opt off if they choose not to have some or all their information shared and there will be rigorous privacy and security controls. 
  
• Radiology Stabilisation: Strengthening the digital infrastructure and core systems that underpin our radiology services, so they’re more reliable and can operate safely nationwide while the Radiology Modernisation programme is set up and partners/solutions procured. The Central region radiology information system upgrade was completed recently across six districts, with further stabilisation work delivered in Waitaha and the Northern region. 
  
• Cloud Modernisation: Moving the organisation to more secure and reliable cloud platforms. The business case is currently going through the approval process. 
  
• Network connectivity: Establishing a secure and resilient national network across Health NZ sites to replace multiple regional networks. A business case is currently being developed. 
  

Working together

No single team can achieve all this alone. Delivery of the HDIP brings together expertise from across Health NZ including the Centre for Digital Modernisation of Health, Digital Services and clinical leaders, along with the Government Digital Delivery Agency, suppliers and delivery partners. Together, we're building the foundations for modern, connected and resilient digital systems, ensuring investment is focused on delivering the greatest benefits for patients, clinicians and communities.

While there is significant work ahead, we're making real progress and putting the right building blocks in place for the future. 

In brief

• Gary Baird will be joining Health NZ next month in the newly created role of National Director Digital Services and Technology.  His job title reflects Digital Services' increasingly national way of working - bringing together local expertise and national leadership to deliver consistent, connected digital services across the country. This replaces the Chief Information Technology Officer role I’ve held in an acting capacity since October 2024. I’ll be returning to my substantive role once Gary’s onboard.  
  
• The Health NZ Board has established a Digital Transformation Committee to oversee progress on the HDIP. This strengthens oversight of our major digital initiatives and connection to the Health NZ Board. 

If you want to contact eHealthNews.nz regarding this View, please email the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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