National health organisations to be ‘digital native’

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The Transition Unit is working to enable Health NZ and the Māori Health Authority to be “digital native” organisations that can provide innovation at scale and technology at speed, the lead policy advisor for digital and data within the unit says.

Emily Mailes spoke at a HiNZ networking event on July 7 in Auckland, telling attendees that many of the objectives of the government’s health reforms cannot be achieved without a step change in digital capability and maturity.

“What the Transition Unit can do, in partnership with the Ministry and sector, is remove traditional barriers to digital progress and set important foundations so we can move at pace once the new system is set up,” she told attendees.

Mailes said the Transition Unit is working hard to make funding settings for digital programmes more permissive and flexible in order to deliver technology at pace and support innovation.

“From a technology perspective it’s about making sure we can provide innovation at scale, technology at speed and keep people in the centre,” she said.

MoH deputy director data and digital Shayne Hunter said he sees only opportunity for the data and digital health sector in the health reforms as there is a huge push towards enabling care in a different way, using data and digital tools.

The Health NZ locality pilots will look at different ways of providing care for people at a local levels and use of technology will play a key part in those.

“We intend to design a system to work for people in local communities to ensure they can access they care they need when and where they need it and a big part of that is digital enablement,” he said.

The focus is not on moving people from one organisation to another, but shifting behaviours and ways of working and this will involve continuous engagement with the sector, he said.

Hunter says people involved in data and digital will be important to the success of the reforms and he urged people to stay in the sector and get involved.

One of his focus areas for the next 6-18 months is on achieving gains that add demonstrable value to patients, the workforce and funders.

You can view videos of the speeches via the Webcast Library.  Available exclusively to HiNZ members.

Picture: Lead policy advisor for digital and data within the Transition Unit Emily Mailes and MoH deputy director data and digital Shayne Hunter speak at a HiNZ networking event on July 7.

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