Digital Investment Plan for health released 'later this year' - Minister

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

Release of a Digital Investment Plan being developed at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora has been delayed until later this year.

The creation of a 10-year Digital Infrastructure Investment Plan was made public in June 2024 after the May budget recalled more than $380 million earmarked for data and digital health initiatives over the following five years.

Former Minister of Health Shane Reti said at the time that he would consider new investment in data and digital later that year (2024), when Health NZ delivered a new 10-year plan setting out the size and scale of investment needed for digital infrastructure.

Former chief data and digital Leigh Donoghue said at the time that, “Health NZ will be developing a 10-year infrastructure investment plan including digital, to provide a robust long-term view".

In April 2025, new Minister of Health Simeon Brown released the Health Infrastructure Plan, as part of an overall 10-year investment roadmap for health, but this only covered physical infrastructure, not digital.

Brown tells eHealthNews that he expects Health NZ to be in a position to release a Digital Investment Plan (DIP) later this year.

“Digital infrastructure is a key enabler for health service delivery and improved outcomes for patients, and a digital investment plan is needed to deliver this,” he says. 

Brown says Health NZ has an incredibly fragmented digital ecosystem, with an estimated 6000+ digital applications and 100+ digital networks, and that much of this stems from the various District Health Boards having their own digital systems and platforms.

Darren Douglass, Health NZ acting chief information technology officer, confirms the DIP is  in development and will be released “later this year”. 

“The plan is being refined with stakeholder feedback and with a focus on funding and investment pathways,” he says. 

Douglass says the aim is to align digital and physical infrastructure and care service delivery to create a more cohesive and efficient health system. 

"The Digital Investment Plan is linked to the infrastructure plan where it makes sense.  This is particularly relevant for campus and service planning, noting the scope of digital services is broader, given it also includes consumer facing and population health services, as well as corporate users.”

At Digital Health Week in December 2024 Douglass said the digital plan would focus on achieving a shared digital health record accessible to patients and clinicians, expanding telehealth services, and addressing systemic inequities through inclusive digital solutions. 

“These ambitions require modern, secure platforms and collaboration with industry partners. We must build confidence in our ability to deliver,” Douglass told the conference.

Ryl Jensen, chief executive of the Digital Health Association, says it is essential that digital is recognised as a core component of the national health infrastructure.     

While welcoming the Health Infrastructure Plan, she says its passing reference to digital assets seems at odds with the Minister’s recent comments about, and the intent signalled in, the Government Policy Statement on Health, which did highlight the importance of digital assets. 

Jensen also highlighted the gap between this intent and current investment levels. 

“Over the past year, a significant proportion of digital health funding has been reprioritised, raising concern about the ability to deliver on the digital transformation agenda,” she says.

“To deliver a truly future-fit system, we need significantly more targeted investment in digital. This includes a clear and funded strategy to replace legacy systems, reduce duplication, and invest in innovation, which would allow the health system to operate efficiently and cohesively. Without this, the system will continue to struggle under the weight of outdated technology and fragmented data.” 

eHealthNews reported in February 2025 that budget cuts at Health NZ mean it is proposing to spend 2.2 percent of its total operating budget on digital services.

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