Clinicians explore how AI could help solve real healthcare challenges

SECTOR UPDATE - Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora

Health New Zealand is helping clinicians explore how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to solve practical problems and improve health services. 

HealthX – Health New Zealand’s programme for identifying, testing, and evaluating new technology that could improve healthcare – held its first Clinical AI Academy three weeks ago.

The academy brought clinicians together with people working in digital technology and data to learn more about AI, explore real healthcare challenges, and develop ideas for how AI might help. This took place in a safe and secure “sandbox” provided by HealthX — a controlled digital environment where teams can explore and test AI ideas with safeguards in place. 

Health New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Dale Bramley said it was important to support frontline clinicians to understand how AI technology could potentially assist them in delivering deliver high-quality patient care. 

“We have already seen through our use of AI scribes by our ED specialists that there are huge benefits to be realised, allowing more clinical time to go into direct care at the bedside,” Dr Bramley said. 

“Now we are looking at ways we can unlock further benefits from AI. Helping our clinicians understand what may be possible and encouraging them to consider how AI could help overcome some of their everyday challenges is exactly the type of support Health New Zealand should be providing.” 

The three-day Clinical AI Academy event in Wellington involved 27 people, including clinicians from different specialties and regions, alongside digital, data, and HealthX staff. 

Short learning sessions were combined with practical group work, helping participants understand more about how AI works, how it is tested, the importance of good-quality data, and what needs to be considered before it can be used safely and effectively in healthcare. 

A key focus was identifying real clinical challenges where AI might be able to help. Participants worked in three groups to explore possible solutions, consider the benefits and risks, and develop plans for what could happen next. Importantly, this also included considering whether AI was the right solution at all.

“The starting point is not the technology, but the problems we need to solve for patients and clinical teams,” said Dr Robyn Whittaker, who led the academy. 

We want to give clinicians the skills and support to explore where AI could make a meaningful difference and build the evidence to use it safely and effectively. The goal is better care for patients.”

Three potential projects were explored: 

• Helping prepare for surgery: using AI to summarise patient information before anaesthetic assessments, which could help reduce same-day surgery cancellations.
• Improving radiology referrals: exploring whether AI could help make referrals for community radiology services clearer, more consistent, and efficient. 
• Supporting diabetes care: exploring whether AI could help identify people with diabetes who may be missing recommended care. 
  

The academy also helped clinicians connect with Health New Zealand’s digital, data, and HealthX teams, making it easier for people with ideas or problems to connect with those who can help investigate them further. 

Following the academy, many participants reported feeling more confident using AI tools available to Health New Zealand clinicians and having a better understanding of how they could be used safely and appropriately. 

“It reinforced that AI can be part of a solution, but there are many other important factors as well,” one participant said. “It greatly assisted with problem definition and clarification.” 

Others highlighted the value of connecting with colleagues and having a safe environment to explore ideas. 

“I can now link to people that can help advance ideas that are being worked on in a traditional way, making that work much more real-time.” 

Another participant said it was reassuring “to know that there is a sandbox to innovate and still within the safety zone”. 

Making sure AI is used safely 

Any AI ideas taken forward will need to go through Health New Zealand’s established approval and oversight processes. 

This includes National AI & Algorithm Expert Advisory Group review to consider whether an AI system is safe for clinical use, provides genuine benefits, meets ethical standards, and complies with cultural, legal, privacy, and security requirements. 

Source: Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora media release

Sector updates are provided by organisations to eHealthNews.nz and have not necessarily been edited or checked for accuracy. Any queries should be directed to the organisation issuing the release.

Do you have an item to add to sector updates?

Email your information to us at updates@hinz.org.nz

Return to eHealthNews.nz home page