HealthX expands use of AI-powered rostering

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

Expansion of an AI-powered rostering tool aimed at freeing free up time for radiologists has been confirmed as one of the monthly initiatives being delivered by HealthX.

Sonny Taite, director of innovation and AI at Health New Zealand, spoke about the expansion at the Te Tītoki Mataora Forum in Auckland on July 2 where he said the use of RosterLab will expand from around 500 clinicians rostered to around 900.

He described it as a “very tightly controlled expansion across four locations” and said the benefits they are looking for involve a reduction in hours to create a roster, which includes the clinical requirements and workforce preferences. 

“We do not want clinicians creating rosters, it is time consuming and often requires more than one person getting involved,” he said.

The pilot, will include Medical Radiation Technologist (MRT) services at Counties Manukau, Waikato, Starship and Waitematā. 

“The pilot will be delivered through a structured implementation programme designed to move from initial scoping and stakeholder alignment through to live roster deployment and ongoing support,” RosterLab says.

“Implementations can run in parallel across multiple sites, allowing several healthcare services to be onboarded simultaneously.”

Daniel Ge, co-founder of RosterLab, says engagement from clinical teams has shaped how the platform is being implemented. 

"What has stood out most is how much clinicians and roster coordinators care about getting this right," he said.

"Rostering affects people's day-to-day lives, their weekends, their recovery time, their family commitments and their sense of fairness at work. Seeing teams engage so deeply with improving that experience has been incredibly encouraging."

The pilot will evaluate how improved rostering can support better roster quality and work-life balance while reducing the administrative burden associated with creating and maintaining complex healthcare schedules.

Taite said, “this is the kind of thing HealthX aims to do: find those initiatives and opportunities where it makes a lot of sense with really obvious benefits and then just deliver it”.

Image: Sonny Taite, director of innovation and AI at Health New Zealand, speaking at the Te Tītoki Mataora Forum in Auckland

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