Health data access reduced as Hira services halted

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Consumers and clinicians will have reduced access to summary health data following the pause or shutdown of a number of services developed under the Hira programme due to Budget cuts, a letter to the Minister of Health says.

An industry leader says the loss of funding has already resulted in the departure of key people with vital institutional knowledge and stalled the development of critical digital tools to enable the frontline.

Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora director strategy and investment Darren Douglass wrote to the Minister of Health on May 28, just two days before the budget was announced, to summarise the impact of planned cuts.

It says, “the immediate operational impacts will be reduced access for consumers and clinicians to summary health data, continued lack of data standards adoption and systems interoperability”.

More than $330 million earmarked for data and digital initiatives over the next four years was returned as part of Budget 2024.

On top of this, Health NZ is looking to make savings of $1.4 billion with all ‘enabling functions’ having to make cuts as resourcing is prioritised to the frontline. Unions received a briefing on six elements of this savings programme, which included a $100 million savings target for data and digital.

The letter to the Minister says contingency funding of $20 million annually was to operate and maintain services created by the Hira Tranche 1 programme. 

The funding cut would mean the National Terminology Service, which has 40 IT vendors connected, would be shut down in March 2025 and further expansion deferred.

Consumer digital health identity, which has 2.7m user accounts, used to access a wide range of services including Aotearoa Immunisation Register, HPV screening and regulatory platforms such as Assisted Dying, would go into containment and be used solely for pandemic and disease uses. 

Also, the My Health Record application (70,000 registered users) would be restricted to only pandemic and disease response scope.

Services to enable the NZ Patient summary (NZPS) record to be integrated into vendor and sector products will be shutdown, as well as underlying Connector platform infrastructure to advance sector interoperability.

The NZPS is adapted from the International Patient Summary, an internationally recognised data standard that includes an person's core personal health information.

The initial release of the NZ Patient Summary was in June for consumers to view their dispensed medications and drug allergies in My Health Record. A planned solution for health staff to access the information is now at risk.

“There is an operational risk of the failure of existing shared electronic health record (EHR) services in three regions, which cannot be effectively mitigated without the services outlined above and this funding,” the letter to the Minister says. 

“A key primary care sector vendor has signalled the intent to prevent the flow of data into these systems from the end of June 2024.”

Douglass tells eHealthNews that Health NZ has been collaborating with relevant vendors, and with the PHOs who manage the shared EHRs, to mitigate any risk.   This includes working with the key vendor mentioned in the letter to ensure continued access to data. 

The organisation has also  funded cyber-security critical investment programme to further strengthen safeguards and national response capabilities.

“We are working on a 10-year plan for infrastructure investment, which includes proposals for integrating and improving the digital and data systems we have inherited. This is well progressed,” he says.

Chief executive of the Digital Health Association, Ryl Jensen, says the reprioritisation of funding away from data and digital initiatives will have a significant impact on the development of crucial frontline digital tools for New Zealand's health sector. 

“Digital technologies are undeniably the future of healthcare, and without proper investment and government support, New Zealand risks falling behind in creating a state-of-the-art health system for the New Zealand people,” she says.

Jensen says the Budget cuts mean key people and institutional knowledge have already been lost from the organisation and the pause or shutdown of these services threatens any progress New Zealand has made in leveraging digital health tools to support a healthier, more resilient population. 

“If we fail to prioritise investment in digital health, we not only risk missing out on these advancements but also hinder our country’s ability to support long-term growth and development through a modern, efficient healthcare system,” she says.

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