Nine new members of the Fellow of Health Informatics NZ (FHiNZ) programme have been announced.

The programme recognises health informatics leaders who demonstrate “significant digital and data achievement and contributions, leadership and service for the health and disability sector of Aotearoa New Zealand”.

HiNZ established the Fellowship Programme in November 2020. Applications open each year in June.

There are now 46 fellows in the programme.

You’ve read this article for free, but good journalism takes time and resource to produce. Please consider supporting eHealthNews by becoming a member of HiNZ, for just $17 a month.

The new FHINZ members are Becky George, Deb Boyd, Debbie Beesley, Farhaan Mirza, Geoffrey Sayer, Kannan Subramaniam, Murray Tilyard, Nathan Kershaw, Sanjeewa Samaraweera.


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Rauland New Zealand (Rauland), one of New Zealand’s leading healthcare technology providers has appointed Cameron Burt as Chief Executive Officer to lead the company for its next phase of local and international growth.

Cameron has over 22 years’ experience in driving sales and innovation in healthcare and information technology. He has held senior executive positions in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions for NASDAQ listed company, Cerner Corporation.

Steve Gomes, Executive Director at Rauland New Zealand comments, “Cameron’s appointment will help Rauland further solidify our position as one of the leading providers of innovative technology solutions in the healthcare industry.

“He has in-depth experience working with health departments and healthcare organisations on large scale and complex programs, both in New Zealand and overseas. Cameron is a highly motivated and results-orientated executive with a successful track record in strategic and operational leadership. I look forward to working closely with him as he settles into the business.”

Cameron Burt comments, “For 29 years in New Zealand and Australia, Rauland has utilised best of breed technologies from New Zealand, America, Germany, France and Israel to deliver solutions that improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care. The company’s commitment to delivering excellent clinical outcomes for customers through innovative, integrated solutions and expansion into new market segments, make this an exciting time to lead such a progressive company.”

Cameron holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy Degree from The University of Melbourne.

Rauland provides cutting-edge solutions to a wide range of healthcare departments and organisations, some of which include Auckland Starship, Auckland; Christchurch Women’s Hospital, Christchurch; Mercy Hospital, Dunedin; Taranaki Base Hospital, Taranaki and Waipapa Hospital, Christchurch.

Martin Catterall has been appointed 3DHB – Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley, and Wairarapa DHBs – chief digital officer.

Hutt Valley DHB and Capital & Coast DHB chief executive Fionnagh Dougan describes him as an experienced ICT leader. 

“He has a significant career in health-based organisations, and a background in successfully implementing strategic change,” says Dougan. 

He was most recently part of the COVID-19 immunisation programme at the Ministry of Health where he created a new pharmacovigilant system to capture, assess and report adverse reactions to the vaccine. 

Prior to that, Catterall held positions as chief information officer at St John and director for information technology and communications at the World Health Organisation in Switzerland, where he and his team deployed systems and technology to support staff in over 200 countries. 

Catterall, who took up the role on 30 August 2021, replaces Tracy Voice, who left 3DHB to become group general manager, improvements, systems and technology at the Ministry of Social Development.

Dougan says: “we would also like to thank Steven Earnshaw for his leadership as acting CDO and recognise the substantive role that he continues to play as chief clinical innovation officer.”

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InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical scalability, interoperability and speed problems, today announced the appointment of experienced HealthTech executive Brian Biggs as Director, Customer Relations and Sales, New Zealand.

Based in Auckland, Biggs will primarily lead sales and customer engagement across all current and future customers. He additionally will be involved in the oversight of the New Zealand operations of InterSystems, including supporting the strengthening of the local team with new positions being filled to serve the company's growing base of local healthcare and other customers.

In the last few years, InterSystems has signed a number of new customers in New Zealand, with its Australian and global implementation and support teams helping to deploy systems locally.Biggs is tasked with leading local efforts with respect to that growing customer base and ensuring that InterSystems is responsive to their needs.

"I want to make sure we leverage a growing local presence, with our regional experts, to drive the maximum level of success for our customers," said Biggs. "As our business has grown, having people on the ground has become more important, both to understand the environment and provide a direct communication channel for our customers."

Biggs reports to Darren Jones, Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand for InterSystems. "Brian Biggs has proven healthcare delivery experience at the highest level with a strong ability to map out achievable outcomes for customers," said Jones. "This makes him a great fit for InterSystems and our focus on achieving long-term benefits rather than short-term business goals."

Biggs and Jones will share responsibility for the innovation and growth of the InterSystems business in New Zealand. Leveraging the cloud-first 

InterSystems IRIS and IRIS for Health data platforms, the company is working with organisations in healthcare, finance, logistics and other sectors to solve their most critical information challenges.

In healthcare, the company's connected health solutions and the TrakCare Electronic Medical Record system, named Best in KLAS 2021 in the Asia/Oceania Region for Acute Care EMR, are enabling digital transformation and improved patient care. InterSystems interoperability and data management capabilities are increasingly being deployed to support innovative solutions leveraging data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and smart medical devices.

Brian Biggs has a technology career spanning over 15 years and has spent most of the last decade leading regional and global delivery teams to deliver complex technology programs within the healthcare industry. He was Services Director, New Zealand and later VP Services, Asia Pacific and Chief Operating Officer, Hospitals for Orion Health before working as Chief Operating Officer for New Zealand digital payments company, Centrapay. Biggs holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Commercial Law from The University of Auckland and in 2007 was a member of the Plowman Craven professional cycling team in Europe.

About InterSystems
Established in 1978, InterSystems provides innovative data solutions for organisations with critical information needs in the healthcare, finance and logistics sectors, and beyond. Our cloud-first data platforms solve interoperability, speed and scalability problems for organisations around the globe. InterSystems also develops and supports data management in hospitals through the world's most proven electronic medical record, as well as unified care records for health systems and governments through a powerful suite of healthcare data integration solutions. The company is committed to excellence through its award-winning, 24×7 support for customers and partners in more than 80 countries. Privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, InterSystems has 25 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit InterSystems.

Source: InterSystems 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.

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eHealthNews.nz is encouraging readers to show their appreciation for some of the unsung heroes of the health system’s response to Covid-19 – IT staff and teams.

Ministry of Health deputy director general Shayne Hunter is the first to says thanks on behalf of the Ministry, saying people who work in ICT, data, and digital technologies have played a vital role in the latest community outbreak of Covid-19. 

“People have come together quickly to solve the immediate problems and deliver new services, and maintain business continuity,” he tells eHealthNews. 

Hunter says a difference from previous outbreaks is that staff have been able to leverage a lot of what had been developed earlier in the response.

“We already had some technology in place and have reused processes from last time to stand up the capability required,” he explains. 

“We still needed to deliver kit to locations, support people to work remotely, and accelerate the delivery of planned features in some applications as well as adding new ones to support different needs arising as a result of the Delta variant.”

On top of that, there has been more non-Covid work to be done than last time. 

“Some very long hours have been worked and the effort has been huge,” he says. 

“The system is under pressure with growing demand for health services generally, the Covid response, the vaccination programme, the reforms and more, yet people still find the strength to go the extra mile. 

“Amazing people doing amazing mahi to keep the system going, fight the good fight against Covid-19 and to drive change. Thank you.”

If you have an individual or team you would like to thank, send your message to news@hinz.org.nz along with a short description (100 words or less) of the hard work you’ve appreciated.

Messages of appreciation

Arvida Group IT Team 

Thank you to the Arvida Group IT team – keeping 5000 older New Zealanders to stay in touch with their families during lockdown, supporting the Wellness teams across multiple households in 33 communities all around the country and building new functionality on the run, all working from home. You punch above your weight and your individual commitment is so appreciated. 

Rachel Hopkins – Head of Living Well Communities, Arvida Group

Orion Health IT services team

I may be biased but I think Orion Health has the best IT Services team ever. I have never worked with an IT team who are so willing to give things a go and make things work. Nothing is ever too much trouble for them, and everything is done with a calm and professional demeanour, as well as a sense of humour. 

In particular, they have really shown their mettle in the last 18 months. Like all IT teams last year, they were under intense pressure to 'keep the home fires burning' and maintain the performance of our infrastructure as we all adapted to working from home. 

With their hard work, Orion Health was able to support existing customers without interruption, as well as deploying to a new customer in a country we had never done business in. IT Services achieved all this when they were themselves a skeleton team. They are truly a credit to the Orion Health values 'We solve the unsolvable' and 'We get things done'. 

Nicole Gray, Orion Health communications manager

Covid-19 vaccination programme co-ordinators  
 
It was the middle of lockdown level 4 in Auckland and I had booked my first vaccination via BookMyVaccine ages ago, getting a date for mid-September. I was feeling a bit frantic about not being vaccinated so I rescheduled for an earlier date. I was impressed by the slick operation when I arrived at the vaccination centre where clear markings and friendly masked people showed me through the process. IT was invisible until I got to the person who vaccinated me, but that’s the way it should be. I knew it was one of the three pillars of a successful service – people, process and product – and was deeply appreciative of the work I knew went into such a slick operation. 

Karen Day – senior lecturer, Auckland University

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Sixteen new members of the Fellow of Health Informatics NZ (FHiNZ) programme have been announced.

The programme recognises health informatics leaders who demonstrate “significant digital and data achievement and contributions, leadership and service for the health and disability sector of Aotearoa New Zealand”.

HiNZ established the Fellowship Programme in November 2020 and the 21 founding fellows were announced in March of this year.

An annual application process for fellows has been established and the first round of applications has been assessed and appointed by the founding fellows and the HiNZ board

HiNZ board member Karen Blake says the board was impressed with the exceptional calibre of applicants for fellowship to HiNZ. 

“This demonstrates the breadth of amazing people we have working across digital health in New Zealand, and the contributions that people make to use data and technology to improve health outcomes,” she says. 

“I am excited to see the fellowship programme recognise and celebrate people's work and leadership in digital health in a way that we haven't been able to do before in New Zealand.” 

The new FHINZ members are; Angela de Zwart; Darren Douglass; Delwyn Armstrong; Emma Collins; Greig Russell; Jayden MacRae; Karen Day; Kevin Ross; Lloyd McCann; Matthew Valentine; Patricia Kerr; Peter Jordan; Rebecca Grainger; Ruth Large; Steven Earnshaw; Tamzin Brott.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Smartphones are a part of nursing education. Student nurses use smartphones to access textbooks, pharmacology resources, standards for practice and lots of other knowledge as part of their everyday learning. Particularly while they are in practical sessions, and need to quickly fact check what to do next in clinical situations.

 Up until now, no-one has researched the downside of this digital reliance. 

Belinda McGrath, who has taught first year nursing students at Whitireia for almost 15 years, has published international research with a group from Western Sydney University, Murdoch University and others, on the impacts of smartphones on nursing students. 

The research, which looks at wellbeing and proposes a change, is a timely alignment with the International Council of Nurses’ focus for International Nurses Day on nurse wellbeing as part of transforming future healthcare.

Results incorporated from Korea, Turkey, India, Spain, the US, Iran, France, Canada and Egypt, found a concerning level of smartphone addiction among nursing students. 

“So while the wonderful world of digital knowledge can be so helpful for students”, said Belinda, “the research found a worrying level of negative impacts that caused stress and anxiety, and adversely affected sleep, learning and academic performance, as a result of a reliance on this learning resource.

“It is essential we have the right policies in place to ensure a positive outcome from smartphone use as part of the nursing curriculum. We are currently doing research into this to inform development of policies and guidelines to address this which can complement the current Whitireia ICT policies.”

Belinda has been integral to developing the unique nursing curriculum at Whitireia over many years and is determined Whitireia stays at the cutting edge of teaching and learning in this sector.

“We were one of the first institutions to develop ‘concept based’ learning which pulled the theory and the practice of nursing together in ways which made sense to students. We were the first to set up a modern simulation lab so that nursing students could work hands-on, we introduced avatar technology, we have a strong focus on wellbeing, kindness, empathy and cultural responsiveness. We have strong relationships with health and medical providers to ensure our students get good and diverse placements. Research, such as the smartphone report, provides us with ways to ensure we continue to stay one step ahead.”

Carmel Haggerty, Head of School for Health & Social Services at Whitireia, added to this: “We are proud to offer three strong nursing degrees - Bachelor of Nursing Māori, a Bachelor of Nursing Pacific, and a Bachelor of Nursing. This is important for our contribution to diversity in the nursing workforce of Aotearoa New Zealand, and provides options for our students to pathway in ways which best suit them.”

“Belinda is a highly respected senior nursing tutor, who is passionate about ensuring the highest quality evidence is incorporated into her and her team’s educational practice,” says Carmel. 

“I feel excited for aspiring nurses,” says Belinda. “‘There is so much opportunity out there with such a strong focus on healthcare due to the pandemic, an increasingly diverse range of professional pathways opening up, and a real emphasis on preventing stress and burn-out, the future is bright.” 

Media contact: 
Ruth Lavelle-Treacy, 021 104 6909

Further information can be found here: 
Whitireia offers a wide range of nurse training from diploma to postgraduate level. More information on Whitireia’s nursing courses can be found on their website.

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We're super excited to announce that nominations are now open for the NZ Excellence in IT Awards, the awards that recognise the people making such a difference in tech.

The New Zealand Excellence in IT Awards are sector-wide awards recognising the individuals and teams who have truly excelled in our industry. While other awards focus on companies and vendors, the Excellence in IT Awards exclusively celebrates our people. The unsung heroes and champions of our sector. 

Who do you know that absolutely excels and should be recognised? Nominate them now!

2021 Award Categories

The following are the categories for the 2021 New Zealand Excellence in IT Awards. The Excellence Awards represent excellence in each of eight general sector categories, with the Supreme Awards being across the tech sector.

Excellence Awards:

• Project Excellence Award 
• Excellence in Software 
• Excellence in Digital Health 
• Excellence in Govtech 
• Gerard MacManus Award for Excellence in IT Education  
• Excellence in Inclusion 
• Excellence in People Leadership 
• Excellence in Tech Communications 

Supreme Awards: 

• Young IT Professional of the Year 
• New Zealand IT Professional of the Year 

Check out full details of the categories on the Awards website. 

If an individual or team springs to mind who deserves to be nominated, you can either complete a full nomination now, or put them in as an Expression of Interest and we'll work with you on the full nomination.

Nominations close on the 26 May 2021 so get in quick!

Source: ITP Techblog media release, 16 April 2021

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.

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Applications for the Fellowship of Health Informatics New Zealand Programme (FHiNZ) are now open, and you can apply here.

“Many fellowship programmes prioritise academic accomplishment, however we have taken a more holistic approach recognising peoples’ contribution and service to health informatics’’, says Karen Blake, HiNZ board member. 

HiNZ announced the programme’s Founding Fellows in eHealthNews.nz on 11 March 2021 and their bios and photos are available on the HiNZ website. 

Applications close on 4 June 2021 and you can find out more about the programme here. Please contact Nic Quilty at sector@hinz.org.nz if you have any questions.

Source: HiNZ media release, 4 May 2021

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.

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Twenty-one people will become the founding fellows of the Fellow of Health Informatics NZ (FHiNZ) programme.

HiNZ announced the establishment of the Fellowship Programme at a networking event in Auckland on 19 November 2020.

The programme recognises health informatics leaders who demonstrate “significant digital and data achievement and contributions, leadership and service for the health and disability sector of Aotearoa New Zealand”.

The HiNZ board identified the founding fellows who have a significant legacy of service and leadership in health informatics. These fellows will be acknowledged at the Digital Health Leadership Summits in late March.

HiNZ board member Karen Blake says, “a small working group of the board has developed this programme over the past few months to honour those people in New Zealand who are working at the peak of our health informatics profession.

“Many fellowship programmes prioritise academic accomplishment, however we have a taken a more holistic approach recognising peoples’ contribution and service to health informatics.”

In late April 2021, an annual application process will begin for fellows, with the first round of applications assessed and appointed by the founding fellows and the HiNZ board.

Blake encourages others working in digital health to apply for fellowship this year.

The next cohort of fellows will be formally appointed at Digital Health Week NZ 2021, being held in Wellington from 29 November – 1 December and an Annual Fellows Breakfast will be hosted during the week.

The Founding Fellows of FHiNZ are: Colin McKenzie; David Hay; Gabe Rijpma; Ian McCrae; Inga Hunter; Karl Cole; Kate Rhind; Liz Schoff; Lucy Westbrooke; Malcolm Pollock; Martin Wilson; Michelle Honey; Nigel Millar; Richard Medlicott; Robyn Carr; Robyn Whittaker; Simon Hayden; Stuart Bloomfield; Will Reedy; Stella Ward; and Shayne Hunter.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Health Informatics New Zealand announced a new Fellowship Programme at a networking event in Auckland on November 19.

The Fellow of HiNZ Programme recognises Digital Health leaders who demonstrate significant digital and data achievement and contributions, leadership and service for the health and disability sector of New Zealand/Aotearoa.

A group of Founding Fellows will be appointed by the HiNZ Board and announced in early 2021. The Founding Fellows all have a recognised legacy of service and leadership in digital health.

Next year, an annual application process will begin for Fellows, with the first round of applications assessed and appointed by the Founding Fellows and the HiNZ Board.

HiNZ board member Karen Blake says the programme is designed to give industry and professional recognition of outstanding achievement and contribution to digital health in New Zealand as currently people are having to go to offshore organisations for this formal recognition.

“It is inclusive of all areas of health informatics, including industry, technical and clinical,” she says.

There will be an Annual Fellows Breakfast held at Digital Health Week NZ, which in 2021 will be in Wellington from 29 November – 1 December.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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The Clinical Informatics Leadership Network urges clinicians to join their online community to share knowledge and resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.

CiLN is a New Zealand-based, multidisciplinary and responsive health network for people with a clinical background and interest in data and/or digital.

More than 320 clinicians from around New Zealand are already members and interacting online via a forum called Discourse. Another 92 non-clinicians are participating in the NZ Informatics Forum as Digital Health Leaders.

Discourse was set up by the UK’s Digital Health Networks, which hosts the NHS Chief Clinical Information Officer and Chief Information Officer networks, as well as others.

This means New Zealand members have the opportunity to not only learn from each other, but share experiences and resources with colleagues in the UK.

CiLN co-chair Karen Blake says the forum has been buzzing with activity since the COVID-19 outbreak began, with hundreds of clinicians and IT leaders contributing.

Current discussions include tips on video conferencing tools, COVID-19 resources and information on care pathways for patients with the virus.

“Our ability to learn from the UK, who are a couple of weeks ahead of us in terms of this outbreak, is incredibly valuable,” says Blake.

“And they are learning what’s happening with their colleagues across Europe so it really has developed into an international community.”

CiLN advisory panel member and chair of Health Informatics NZ Rebecca George says Discourse is providing people with up-to-date information on the latest developments and the CiLN community is committed to ensuring that the health sector is developing collaborative scalable solutions in response.

“At this time, all clinicians are seeking creative ways of meeting their patients’ needs and this community can support you in doing that,” she says.

George says CiLN members are committed to using digital solutions to meet the needs of the health sector.

During the pandemic, members are working to:

• support colleagues and family/whānau, friends and communities to take care of themselves, communicating the public health messages wherever and whenever they can
• ensure that they are enabling and leading staff and supporting patients/consumers to use digital platforms, eg, telehealth where appropriate
• ensure that they are leading the reduction of risk to communities and themselves by role modelling social distancing through integrating virtual work platforms and prioritising face to face requirements.

Membership of CiLN is free thanks to the support of HiNZ. To read more about CiLN see our information page and FAQ page.

Apply to join CiLN here.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read more news:

CiLN membership passes 300

CiLN Advisory Panel update – March 2020

For more information and resources about COVID-19 go to https://www.hinz.org.nz/page/covid19

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Picture: CiLN co-chair Nathan Kershaw 

This is our first CiLN newsletter, in which we will attempt to give a nice bite-sized digest of what is going on in New Zealand’s clinical informatics scene.

We will summarise the key discussions in Discourse, and let you know what the executive and the advisory panel are thinking. The intent is to make it easy for our time-pressured members to keep up with what is going on, and to make sure everyone remains in the loop.

There is a lively Discourse thread on digital responses to Covid-19 with members from both NZ and the UK contributing their thoughts, plans, work and innovations in this space. As we sit at the intersection of clinical and IT, we need to step up to respond to this rapidly developing situation.

Other key discussions in Discourse:

• Nigel Millar’s post on the problem with our current approach to interoperability
•  Certification in clinical informatics
• The capture and storage of clinical images and clinical video
•  Digital communication with patients. 

The whole purpose of CiLN is to connect us so we can collaborate effectively. CiLN belongs to us all, and we all share responsibility for its success or otherwise.

If we are to achieve the meaningful changes we all hope for, it will take input from us all. We have a small ‘exec’ of four and an advisory panel of around 15 (including the exec); however, we all share in the governance of CiLN.

To this end, the hitherto private discussions regarding governance of CiLN are now being made visible to all members.

Also, we are now housing our Terms of reference and Mission statement in a new category, Key documents. These are Wikis, and are open for all CiLN members to read, edit and comment on.

Lastly, we are finalising our position statement, which is a short document to tell everyone why they need clinical informaticians desperately.

In addition to our upcoming Networking event on 5 May just before Innovations in Digital Health, we are exploring holding local and regional gatherings of CiLN members.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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The Clinical Informatics Leadership Network passed 300 members just over a year after its creation.

The network is a “NZ-based, multi-disciplinary and responsive health network for people with a clinical background and interest in data and/or digital” and held its first meeting in November 2018.

Since then membership has grown steadily and has now reached 323. Wellington radiologist Alistair Rumball-Smith was the 300th clinician to sign up late last year.

“I have been aware of CiLN for a year or so and as a radiologist with a keen interest in informatics I felt it was important to sign up and be part of that community,” he says.

The core of CiLN is an online forum hosted on the Discourse platform, which was set up by the UK’s Digital Health Networks.

“The Discourse forum is fantastic, it’s a really good way to have the wide range of clinical leaders interested in informatics discuss things and communicate effectively,” Rumball-Smith says.

“Everyone’s trying to solve the same problems so it’s great to see collaboration happening on a more regular basis.”

Rumball-Smith also appreciates the opportunity to meet fellow members face to face during the year.

“There’s something special about being able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with someone and being able to ask more pointed questions about how people are dealing with problems and how to collaborate better,” he says.

CiLN co-chair Karen Blake describes the growth of the network as “extraordinary”.

“I don’t think any of us thought we would end up with over 300 members,” she says.

“What’s really interesting is we haven’t traditionally been able to understand the clinical informatics workforce very well, but through CiLN membership we’re starting to understand just how many people there are working in digital health from a clinical perspective.”

The increasing membership means there is a greater number and diversity of people who can respond to questions or make comments on the online forum.

“I love the power of the hive mind and with CiLN, the more people we have in the hive the greater the power of the mind,” says Blake.

“At our very first meeting people talked about working in isolation. CiLN is helping to reduce that by giving people a community, and that it’s a virtual community is part of the ethos of working in digital health.”

Blake would like to see more members from those working in the non-registered and community sectors such as Māori and Pasifika health workers.

“We haven’t connected well with that community yet, but I’m sure she will,” she says.

CiLN is supported by HiNZ. Join HiNZ here >>

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Picture: The HiNZ Conference drew a record number of delegates this year 

The largest ever HiNZ Conference has proven to also be the best to date, with a record-breaking number of delegates, a diverse range of speakers and the first experiential village.

More than 1,450 people attended HiNZ’s first Digital Health Week NZ in Hamilton this month, including representatives from DHBs, PHOs, government and NGOs, industry partners and providers.

Health Minister David Clark described what is thought to be New Zealand’s largest health conference as a “fantastic opportunity to gather and share innovation, ideas and solutions and to educate ourselves and others and to network as we strive to improve the health and wellbeing of New Zealand.

“Digital health plays an incredibly important and increasingly important role in helping us achieve our priorities in the wider health and disability system. In equity, mental health and addiction, access to services and also in workforce challenges digital has a key role to play,” he told attendees in his keynote address.

“This is such an important conference – it is one of the fastest growing areas of healthcare.”

HiNZ board member Rebecca Grainger says the conference has been able to grow because “HiNZ is focusing more on what the sector needs in terms of making connections that grow capacity to get great outcomes for New Zealanders.

“It makes me feel really optimistic that we are developing the wave of people and companies to transform health in New Zealand,” Grainger said.

The conference began with a powerful reminder of the importance of giving patients not only better outcomes for their health, but also better quality of life through advances in digital tools.

Australian bushfire survivor Terry Lee spoke to the 1000+ people packed into the main arena about the digital tools that allow him independence.

Having survived full-thickness burns to 75 per cent of his body – that robbed him of his right arm, left hand, both ears and one eye and left him with permanent lung damage – Terry lives with his wife Moira in a digitally equipped home.

Exhibitors talked of the value of being able to have worthwhile conversations with delegates, many highlighting the strong leads that came out of time with decision makers and future-focused health industry officials.

Harkness Fellowship recipient and Ministry of Health chief allied health professions officer Martin Chadwick aptly proved that location should not be a barrier in the industry. He is based at Rutgers University in Boston during his fellowship, but streamed his presentation live from Toronto.

Also streaming live were almost back-to-back interviews on the newly launched eHealthTV platform. All eHTV Studio interviews are now available free to view online.

The Twitter feed ran hot, Eva the robot cruised the exhibition hall photographing attendees and the AWS Experiential Village that showcased a GP’s clinic – and your lounge – of the future was as busy as the main street of Hamilton during breaks.

With more than 350 presentations in more than 10 tracks, a little RnR was prescribed – with Hobbiton hosting its biggest private booking yet, before everyone headed back to the future.

HiNZ has announced that next year’s Digital Health Week NZ will return to Claudelands in Hamilton from 23–27 November 2020.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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The National Allied Health Informatics Group is seeking to consult with the allied health community to confirm the potential for allied health professions across New Zealand to lead digital and data-driven health and disability services.

In partnership with the Chief Allied Health Professions Office at the Ministry of Health, we would like your feedback on a position statement to represent the interests of the allied health workforce.

We are intending the position statement to:

• signal allied health as leaders in the digital health workforce
• be evidence based
• be comprehensive
• provide practical guidance

Your feedback will ensure that we will publish a position statement that is meaningful and applicable across New Zealand's health workforce.

Here is a link to the consultation survey or if you prefer we also welcome your written feedback to the email address of Rebecca.george@cdhb.health.nz.

Feedback will close on 13 December 2019. Please distribute this far and wide for consultation.

Source: National Allied Health Informatics Group, 25 November 2019

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. 

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Picture: Rural hospitalist Ruth Large speaking at eAllied Health 2019

Hayley McLarin

Why Ruth Large is future focused

Emergency department physician Ruth Large was driven to embrace every digital health development possible when a toddler the same age as her own child died in a remote Australian town where she was working.

She is now emergency physician and rural hospitalist working for Waikato, a district health board covering one of the largest areas of New Zealand.

She is an ardent supporter of allied health workers embracing technology for the betterment of their work and for the patient.

“The amount of information you can get now from a patient is incredible. But we have only pockets of early developers.”

She revealed that three quarters of DHBs have a regional telehealth strategy but can foresee in the new future that “the doctor will see you now” being better expressed as “the allied health worker will see you now”.

Breaking down the barriers to working together

Harkness Fellowship recipient and Ministry of Health chief allied health professions officer Martin Chadwick demonstrated how teleconferencing can aid remote communications, beaming in live from Toronto for his presentation on the challenges for allied health through the lens of transdisciplinary working.

Chadwick warned delegates not to be so territorial over their role when other providers were also working with a patient. Instead, he said, there was a need to communicate better and build trust to provide a multidisciplinary level of care.

“What is preventing you from working in a transdisciplinary way? Is there any ethical concern if we all abide by our ethics?” he asked.

“It is the transdisciplinary riddle: What is it that you do and you need to do and only you can do, as opposed to what is it that you do that needs to get done but you do not necessarily need to do?

“It is not taking away from another profession; it is doing the right thing for the patient.”

Leading from behind on clinical engagement

HiNZ board member and National Allied Health Informatics Group chair Rebecca George loves adventure racing – a sense of the unexpected and having to adapt. She acknowledges that is because she has an element of ownership and that it aligns with what she wants to do.

But her workplace at the Canterbury DHB is saturated with coping with the unexpected, having to adapt and embrace something new. And staff feel it is happening to them, rather than with them.

“We need to nurture this group and ensure we are meeting their needs. I tend to do this by leading from behind,” she says.

This sees her working with those more reluctant to engage, while the enthusiasts are creating momentum as early adopters.

“The power swell of the community will gain a voice. We need change to be subtle, diplomatic and creative for it to gather momentum and become collaborative.”

She says managers focus on tasks, minimise risks and expect control, whereas a leader focuses on goals, takes risks and fosters ideas.

“Old power was telling people what to do, new power is creating a swell of a community with a voice. We can get that momentum, with trust and understanding. Trust is very undervalued in the health system.”

Read more about Digital Health Week NZ 2019

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Picture: Winner Rebecca (Becky) George has championed digital health technology and been instrumental in leading allied health in the informatics space.

eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

A champion of digital technology in the health sector has been recognised with the inaugural Clinical Informatics Leadership Award.

Clinical lead for allied health informatics at Canterbury DHB Rebecca George was chosen by public vote and awarded at Digital Health Week NZ.

George has been instrumental in leading allied health in the informatics space across New Zealand, including as chair of the National Allied Health Informatics Group (NAHIG) and as a member of the Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO).

“If we extend the boundaries of thought, imagine what our workforce could achieve, and the value we can bring consumers to engage them in their own health and wellness,” George said at New Zealand’s largest digital health conference.

She also thanked her network by saying, “There cannot be a single point of failure when you are engaging with your workforce and your staff and I am grateful for the inordinate amount of support around me”.

George will receive up to $5,000 to attend an international conference of her choice, with the support of Spark Health.

Her nomination described the impact George has had across New Zealand as “phenomenal”, saying she has “created an upswell of interest in data and digital across the allied health community”.

The judges said, “Her efforts have achieved on-the-ground benefits for clinicians and patients, as well as informatics infrastructure that benefits the wider health system locally and nationally”.

The Clinical Informatics Leadership Network (CiLN) worked in partnership with Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ) to launch the award to recognise and raise the profile of clinical leaders working in digital health.

HiNZ is giving all three finalists complimentary attendance to Digital Health Week NZ 2020 and George will also have a keynote presentation in the 2020 programme.

Judge and HiNZ Board chair Rebecca Grainger says the quality and influence of the leadership displayed by the nominees was remarkable.

“This leadership has been driving work aimed at improving the health of New Zealanders and the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare practitioners and the teams they work in,” she says.

“Health informatics in New Zealand is in good health and the future is bright with these outstanding individuals leading the way.”

The other members of the judging panel were Ministry of Health deputy director data and digital Shayne Hunter and HiNZ Board member and chief executive of Auckland Eye Ltd, Deb Boyd.

Three judges selected three finalists from 16 nominations from across New Zealand and more than 570 votes were then cast online for the winner.

The other two finalists for the 2019 award were David Ryan, IS clinical change manager, Waitematā DHB and Robyn Whittaker, associate professor at the National Institute for Health Innovation and clinical director innovation at Waitematā DHB’s Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

Read a profile of Rebecca George.

Read more about Digital Health Week NZ 2019

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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Changing role for allied health professionals in digital future

New Zealand gets eMental Health Framework

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Rebecca (Becky) George, clinical lead allied health informatics, Canterbury District Health Board

Judges’ comment

“Rebecca George has demonstrated strategic and ongoing leadership at local, regional and national level in allied health informatics.

"Her efforts have achieved on-the-ground benefits for clinicians and patients, as well as informatics infrastructure that benefits the wider health system. She has been a visible champion of allied health informatics.”

Nominator quote

“The impact Becky has had in the allied health space in New Zealand is phenomenal. She has created an upswell of interest in data and digital across the allied health community.”

“She provides clinicians in the digital community with support, mentoring and a willingness to always step up and help people. Her knowledge, networking skills, communication style and experience are unique in New Zealand.”

Profile

Becky George has been instrumental in leading allied health in the informatics space across New Zealand.

She has a wide range of connections and networks – local, regional, national and international – that has enabled her to grow the passion for data and digital in New Zealand.

In her role at Canterbury DHB as clinical lead for allied health informatics, she has championed the importance of multidisciplinary teams in hospitals.

At a national level she is a superb advocate for her profession of allied health informatics and a powerful voice for DHBs and their information needs on behalf of patients and communities.

National leadership

Becky has demonstrated a commitment to best practice and improving patient care through a number of contributions.

In her role as a member of the Health Information Standards Organisation, she has contributed to the development and publication of many successful standards for the health and disability sector.

These standards have covered a variety of subject matter, from ethnicity data protocols to information governance, medical device identification, SNOMED, notifiable diseases and many more. She was particularly instrumental in the work to establish an allied health data standard.

Her work in HISO has secured a common platform to collect, measure and compare data across DHB allied health in New Zealand, where previously there were 20 different ways of classifying and describing clinical activity undertaken for patients by allied health services.

By leading New Zealand to create its own tier one data set, aligned with the SNOMED-CT, she has enabled allied health in New Zealand to contrast and compare with colleges internationally.

Becky had a vision of connecting allied health clinicians across New Zealand to share the work being done with HISO, but also to enable a community of practice of interested and passionate allied health clinicians and managers to share and learn from each other.

She co-founded and is now chair of the National Allied Health Informatics Group, which has 53 members.

She has been key in raising the profile of allied health with her work on the HiNZ Board. She drove the creation of the eAllied Health symposium linked to the annual HiNZ Conference and is a key organiser of the event, utilising her network and connections to ensure a wide-ranging and interesting programme.

Becky also supports the HiNZ Board to understand the clinical user needs and engagement as chair of its Clinical Technical Advisory Group and she represents both allied health and CTAG as a member of the newly formed Clinical Informatics Leadership Group's advisory panel.

Local leadership

Becky is the project lead for Allied Health Inpatient Digital notes at CDHB where she has led the governance, co-design and build across seven professional groups.

She supported staff in the design, streamlining and standardisation of documentation that engages with smart digital technology, reducing duplication, saving significant time and evolving the collaborative culture of allied health staff.

She led the provision of digital devices for allied health staff on Canterbury’s acute site, ensuring that they met needs appropriately and aligned to the dynamic resource model of staffing.

More than 150 staff now use devices that give them access to the programmes they need wherever they are – enabling versatile working for the clinicians and the patients.

By leading a collaborative approach, Becky has ensured that allied health has been ready for every specialty that has rolled out digital notes.

Engagement with the introduction of this system has raised the profile of allied health professional groups across digital projects and innovation design, facilitating increased inclusion and participation at all levels.

Becky’s work around sharing of key information between allied health groups provides significant time savings with the removal of rework and duplicate information collection.

Incorporating data collection for the National Allied Health Data set within the digital notes has removed the need for additional devices and time-consuming periods of data collection across the allied health professions.

Patients also benefit from this governance model, saving their time and reducing their length of stay in hospital influenced by allied health services.

A visible impact

Becky is a hands-on leader. She empowers staff with knowledge which, in turn, has developed a strong working allied health partnership group for CDHB.

The high level of organisation of allied health has been an example to other services, which has also ensured that the goal of working as multidisciplinary teams is accepted as best practice across the CDHB. This has genuinely changed the way care is delivered.

A good example is the strong multidisciplinary focus of the Cortex platform for inpatient care.

Initially a tool for medical teams, through Becky's influence, this became a platform for multidisciplinary teams, encompassing a circle of care, team communication and digital notes from all specialities.

By ensuring that multidisciplinary care, and ideally interdisciplinary care, is the goal to which our system should aspire, Becky is helping to push the evolution of healthcare in the right direction.

This profile is an edited version of the nomination/s.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above feature article please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read more CiLN Award 2019 finalists:

David Ryan

Robyn Whittaker

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Robyn Whittaker, clinical director innovation at the Institute for Innovation and Improvement (i3), Waitematā DHB and associate professor at the National Institute for Health Innovation, University of Auckland

Judges’ comment

“Robyn Whittaker provides visible and inspiring leadership at local, national and international levels in the advancement of digital technology in the health sector. 

“Her clinical leadership has been underpinned by academic rigour, achieving successful innovation to advance healthcare.”

Nominator quote

“Leading by example, Robyn has become a regional, national and international expert in innovation, clinical IT research and leadership.

“The impact of this leadership is widespread and immense, guiding the future of New Zealand’s digital health system.”

Profile

Robyn Whittaker is an honorary associate professor at the National Institute for Health Innovation, where she leads a research programme on health technology, in particular mobile health.

She is regional IT governance leader, chairing the Northern Region’s Health System Design Council, and is a national leader with membership on multiple groups including the NZ Telehealth Leadership Group,  Digital Investment Group and national EHR group.

Robyn has been integral to establishing Waitematā DHB’s Institute for Innovation and Improvement (i3), bringing together the innovation and improvement teams. This has created a methodology of continuous, sustained innovation focused on improving clinicians’ and patients’ experience.

Under her leadership the DHB has become one of the most digital hospital systems in New Zealand, with a national and international reputation for innovation excellence and achievement.

Leapfrog programme

Robyn designed and has led Waitematā’s Leapfrog Programme, a programme of strategic projects that in a relatively short time has seen the successful implementation of  a wide range of digital solutions.

These include ePrescribing, eVitals, voice-to-text technology, eWard Whiteboards, eOrdering, eReferrals, electronic Patient Reported Outcomes Measures, ePatient experience reporting system, telehealth, SmartPage, outpatient flow tool with online patient booking, digital postage, electronic admission and progress notes, and a closed loop eMedicines system.

This has been achieved at a cost of under $10 million, when a comparable electronic health record system costs upwards of $60 million.

The benefits to patients and staff have been widespread including developing  a culture of innovation and readiness for change, identifying and providing roles for clinical IT stars, supporting clinicians to redesign models of care, and applying continuous improvement methodologies with real-time clinical data dashboards and predictive analytic tools.

Her leadership has helped these projects to improve workflow by reducing administration time, effort and wasted clinical staff time, as well as increasing turnaround of requests and orders, improving patient safety and reducing paper in the system.

Developing future leaders

Robyn has developed leadership programmes to identify and grow clinical IT and innovation champions, examples being the i3’s Fellows Programme and the Digital Academy programme.

She has also developed and fostered leadership programmes with external organisations including universities to enable students and postgraduates to get hands-on experience with healthcare.

These programmes have provided the DHB with a pipeline of digital innovation champions, many of whom have established careers with the DHB.

Robyn has led the development of experience-based clinical innovation research at the DHB. She was one of the original designers behind the Precision Driven Health research programme: a collaboration with MBIE, Orion Health and Waitematā as the first DHB partner.

Robyn is on the management team of the MedTech Centre of Research Excellence across five universities and Callagham Innovation, as well as leading a theme and a flagship research project in the CoRE.

She established a partnership with the AUT School of Design, bringing design students into the DHB to experience healthcare and help the DHB design clinical areas and a new surgical hospital.

In conjunction with NIHI she also recently developed and led the first Digital Academy for clinicians at WDHB.

International recognition

Over more than a decade, Robyn has established herself as one of the world’s leading researchers in the mHealth field.

Her research has always been very translational and collaborative, starting with the implementation of the STOMP text messaging for smoking cessation programme and a research collaboration with a leading group in the UK to deliver the same programme in a large UK trial, the results of which were published in the Lancet.

Since then she has gone on to develop and trial many different mHealth interventions, including areas such as depression prevention, alcohol use, cardiac rehabilitation, health information for young families and diabetes self-management support.

The latter study resulted in a paper in the British Medical Journal in 2018, and is being rolled out as a programme in some DHBs.

She won a Harkness Fellowship to the US, based in Washington DC, which established strong links with US research groups and leading health IT thinkers, such as Professor Eric Topol.

Robyn has also supervised a number of PhD students to completion, is lead author of the Cochrane review on mCessation and is an invited expert to the World Health Organization on its ‘Be Healthy, Be Mobile’ strategy, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Health Guidance and Digital Health Technical Advisory Group.

This profile is an edited version of the nomination/s.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above feature article please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read more CiLN Awards 2019 finalists:

Becky George

David Ryan

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eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

David Ryan, IS clinical change manager, Waitematā District Health Board

Judges’ comment

“David Ryan has shown ongoing commitment to the advancement of clinical informatics, finding and successfully implementing successful solutions to real clinical problems.  As well as leading from the front, he works closely with individuals and teams from multiple disciplines and across organisations to support them in change.” 

Nominator quote

“David has the uncanny ability to identify areas where there are opportunities to further improve the experience for clinicians and patients and he works hard to create solutions that achieve this.

“His ability to delve into and solve complex technical problems, coupled with his excellent interpersonal skills, makes him a remarkable individual.”

Profile

David Ryan has led and developed a team to successfully implement a number of in-house and externally developed electronic systems at Waitematā District Health Board and has played a vital role in managing the clinical change process.

He has been instrumental in the development of several key in-house electronic systems, which are used and accessed thousands of times each day, including the Inpatient Snapshot, Nursing Snapshot, Electronic Resuscitation Status and Ceiling of Care Decision Form, and Electronic Clinical Notes.

Inspiring leadership

As a former clinical pharmacist, David has an innate understanding of the clinical workflow and has a special ability to understand what clinicians want, as well as what they don't want. He is passionate about creating electronic solutions that complement the clinical workflow.

His enthusiasm and drive to improve clinician workflow and patient well-being is infectious and his leadership skills have enabled him to develop a small team of like-minded clinicians and technologists to realise his vision.

David is highly regarded not only at Waitematā DHB, but throughout the region as a leader in digital health innovation through his involvement in the creation and development of many key applications, which have become ingrained into everyday clinician workflow at the DHB.

The applications that David and his team create enable clinicians to spend less time interacting with electronic systems and more time doing what is most important – interacting with patients and their whānau.

Articulating the problem and finding the solution

As more systems have become electronic, clinicians are faced with inefficiencies during ward rounds due to the need to interact with more and more applications. This has resulted in significant wait times when switching between applications, leading to increased frustration.

To mitigate this, the Inpatient Snapshot amalgamates and displays data from around 20 different sources including medications, laboratory and radiology results, observations, documents and referrals.

This has enabled clinicians to view pertinent data about a patient at a glance and has significantly improved ward round times and overall workflow, making clinical decisions safer and faster.

The Inpatient Snapshot is being updated to also become a ‘doing’ platform, where a user can directly launch into various applications in order to perform actions rather than to just view data.

The Nursing Snapshot is an adaptation of the Inpatient Snapshot and is designed with a touch interface. It introduces features more suited to the nursing workflow, including indication of when assessments, vitals and medications are due, and the ability to launch directly into these systems using pass-through authentication so that users only have to log in once.

Users are also able to filter patients based on TrendCare allocations, providing a more personalised experience.

Historically, a patient’s resuscitation status was poorly documented on paper and was difficult to find during emergencies. By creating an Electronic Resuscitation Decision Form, users are able to clearly document and view a patient’s resuscitation status from both current and previous admissions.

The form is available on the Inpatient Snapshot, Nursing Snapshot and Electronic Ward Whiteboards, ensuring that this vital piece of information is easily accessible. It has enabled completion rates to be easily audited to ensure compliance with DHB policy. To date, there have been more than 26,000 decision forms completed.

David and his team’s most recent innovation is Electronic Clinical Notes. The application is designed from the ground up and built in-house to replace handwritten clinical notes.

Historically, clinicians often spent a considerable amount of time searching for paper notes and deciphering handwriting. The application attempts to remove these barriers, allowing notes to be accessed from anywhere within the DHB network, and ensures clarity and accountability.

To date, there are approximately 650 beds live with over 300,000 notes written and it is saving approximately 768,000 double-sided pages of handwritten notes each year.

A significant impact

The applications that David has involvement in are utilised by countless members of the multidisciplinary team and benefit a wide array of staff across the organisation, from clerical staff to clinicians to management.

The Electronic Clinical Notes application alone has nearly 2500 unique users and the Inpatient Snapshot is accessed more than 22,000 times per day.

As a leader, David encourages and supports his team and the organisation to strive for health excellence and innovation. He provides his team members the opportunity to dream big and realise their potential by working closely alongside them.

His passion is palpable and shines through in all aspects of his work.

This profile is an edited version of the nomination/s.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above feature article please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read more CiLN Awards 2019 finalists:

Becky George

Robyn Whittaker

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eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Voting is open to choose the winner of the inaugural Clinical Informatics Leadership Award.

The three finalists for the 2019 award are David Ryan, IS clinical change manager, Waitematā DHB; Rebecca George, clinical lead allied health informatics Canterbury DHB; and Robyn Whittaker, associate professor at the National Institute for Health Innovation and clinical director innovation at Waitematā DHB’s Institute for Innovation and Improvement (i3).

The finalists are profiled on eHealthNews and people have until 5pm October 31 to place their vote for the winner.

The winner will be announced on 20 November 2019 during Digital Health Week NZ and

will receive up to $5000 to attend an international conference of their choice, with the support of Spark Health.

Three judges selected the finalists from 16 nominations from across New Zealand.

Judge and Health Informatics New Zealand board chair and academic rheumatologist Rebecca Grainger says the quality and influence of the leadership displayed by the nominees was remarkable.

“This leadership has been driving work aimed at improving the health of New Zealanders and the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare practitioners and the teams they work in,” she says. 

Ryan has led and developed a team to successfully implement a number of in-house and externally developed electronic systems at Waitematā DHB and has played a vital role in managing the clinical change process.

His nominator says, “(Ryan) has the uncanny ability to identify areas where there are opportunities to further improve the experience for clinicians and patients and he works hard to create solutions that achieve this”.

George has been instrumental in leading allied health in the informatics space across New Zealand, including as chair of the National Allied Health Informatics Group and as a member of the Health Information Standards Organisation.

Her nominator described the impact George has had nationally as “phenomenal”, saying she has “created an upswell of interest in data and digital across the allied health community”.

Alongside her work at i3 and NIHI, Whittaker chairs the Northern Region’s Health System Design Council and is a national leader with membership on multiple groups including the NZ Telehealth Leadership Group,  Digital Investment Group and national EHR group.

Her nomination document says, “the impact of this leadership is widespread and immense, guiding the future of New Zealand’s digital health system”.

The Clinical Informatics Leadership Network worked in partnership with HiNZ to launch the award to recognise and raise the profile of clinical leaders working in digital health.

HiNZ is giving all three finalists a free pass to Digital Health Week NZ 2020 and a speaking slot for the winner.

Says Grainger, “Health informatics in New Zealand is in good health and the future is bright with these outstanding individuals leading the way”.

The other members of the judging panel were Ministry of Health deputy director data and digital Shayne Hunter and HiNZ board member and chief executive of Auckland Eye Ltd Deb Boyd.

Vote for the winner. Each person has one vote.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read about the finalists:

Becky George

David Ryan

Robyn Whittaker

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Picture: Auckland University senior lecturer in health informatics Karen Day

eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

New Zealand’s first national health information workforce census is giving visibility to a previously “invisible” workforce, says senior lecturer in health informatics at Auckland University Karen Day.

Day and associate professor at Otago University Rebecca Grainger conducted New Zealand’s Health Information Workforce Census in November and December 2018 and the summary report has now been released.

“We want to be able to quantify and describe this workforce because when we you look at how the Ministry of Health evaluates what the workforce is doing in health, they don’t count people working in health information and as a consequence of this, people are invisible,” says Day.

“Now that we have done the census we can start to work on how to build, support and enable this workforce to contribute to health system performance in the future.”

The New Zealand-wide census got454 complete responses. More than 60 per cent of respondents were female and the age profile fits the general profile of people in the health sector, with most aged between 40–60.

Around two thirds are working in public health services and nearly 90 per cent are in permanent roles.

Day says she was expecting a larger group to work across health information and another role, such as a doctor or nurse; however, 67 per cent reported working only in health information.

The greatest density of health information workers are in the country’s three main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury, and none are based overseas.

“It’s interesting that the citizenship status shows 82 per cent are New Zealand citizens, so we don’t have a big immigration group working here,” Day says.

Nearly one third of respondents had a master’s degree or doctorate. Only three per cent were Māori and 1.6 percent Pasifika.

Day says work is being done to support more Māori to become doctors and nurses and “we do need to do more work to get more Māori people involved as information workers”.

The majority of respondents are being paid between $1,250–$2,500 a week, in line with market rates for people with information management degrees.

Day says those who report being paid more than $4,000 a week a likely to be senior doctors in health information roles being paid at their clinical rate.

Australia ran the first national HIW census in mid-2018. The New Zealand researchers will conduct another census in November 2020, and three yearly after that.

Some participants indicated they would like to participate in the longitudinal study that is part of the census, to help see how people in the HIW progress and whether any career paths emerge.

Day and Grainger will be presenting the census results and running a ‘knowledge cafe’ on Wednesday 20 November during Digital Health Week NZ 2019 in Hamilton.

Read more about Digital Health Week NZ 2019

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The winner of the inaugural Clinical Informatics Leadership Award will receive up to $5000 to attend an international conference of their choice, with the support of Spark Health.

Health Informatics NZ will also give the winner a free pass and a speaking slot at the HiNZ Conference 2020.

The Clinical Informatics Leadership Network has worked in partnership with HiNZ to launch the Clinical Informatics Leadership Award.

People can self-nominate or nominate others who have shown innovation and health system improvement through leadership in digital health in New Zealand.

Spark Health chief executive Will Reedy says the award supports the company’s vision for the health sector of ‘Tomorrow’s Health and Wellness Team = Consumers + Clinicians + Machines’.

“This award focuses on clinical leadership, which is a critical success factor when looking to transform health services,” he says.

Reedy, who also works as a doctor, adds that improving clinician/provider satisfaction is being adopted globally as part of the Quadruple Aim to measure system performance and digital health has a significant impact on this.

“Hopefully the clinician who is recognised by the award has improved clinician/provider satisfaction as part of their project, in addition to enhancing patient experience, improving population health and reducing costs,” Reedy says.

“With our support we hope the winner can get some international learnings and bring them back for the benefit of New Zealand.”

HiNZ chief executive Kim Mundell says a speaking slot at New Zealand’s largest digital health conference in 2020 is an excellent opportunity to showcase the significant contribution clinical leaders make to the success of digital health projects. 

“By raising the profile of the winner, HiNZ hopes others will be inspired to follow in their footsteps,” she says.

CiLN co-chair Karen Blake says the network appreciates Spark Health and HiNZ’s support and recognition of clinical leaders working in digital health.

“The opportunity for the winner to attend an international conference is invaluable for professional development, networking and learning about international trends in healthcare,” she says. 

Three judges, Ministry of Health deputy director data and digital Shayne Hunter, HiNZ board chair and academic rheumatologist Rebecca Grainger and HiNZ board member and chief executive of Auckland Eye Ltd Deb Boyd, will decide on three finalists, who will be profiled on eHealthNews.nz.

A public vote hosted on eHealthNews.nz in October will decide the winner, who will be announced during Digital Health Week NZ in Hamilton from 18–22 November.

Nominations close on 19 August. 

Please refer to the award information page and an FAQ page for further information.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

Read more about the Clinical Informatics Leadership Network:

New award recognises clinical contribution to digital health

Workforce development crucial for future of clinical informatics

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Southern Cross Hospitals has announced the appointment of Trevor Delany as chief digital officer, a new role that focuses on improving health outcomes using digital strategies.

Delany moves into the position following his previous role as head of information technology and services for BP New Zealand. Since 2013, Delany has managed the delivery of all information technology and digital services across this complex business. 

In 2017, he led the delivery of the most advanced digital mobile customer journey in the global retail fuel industry with the launch of BPMe here in New Zealand. Immersion in customer experience, data driven problem-solving and creative design thinking were key factors in the creation of this customer engagement platform, exceeding business case metrics and contributing huge customer benefit and business value growth to BP New Zealand.

Prior to his six years with BP, Delany was the manager of global information systems at Icebreaker. He has also led transformational teams and technology initiatives across multiple industries and countries, including as senior manager for technology and enterprise risk services with Deloitte in Australia, South Korea and New Zealand.

Southern Cross Hospitals chief executive officer Terry Moore says, “Everything we do is linked to better outcomes for the people who come through the doors of our hospitals. To have a digital leader aligned with this focus is a huge asset.

“Trevor has more than 25 years of diverse strategic and technology experience, and we’re thrilled to see that he has already immersed himself in the business, looking at ways to create exceptional patient experiences.”

In his new role, Delany is focused on advancing patient-centric services and facilities with modern digital and IT capabilities. 

“I’m excited to take on this key position at Southern Cross Hospitals, an organisation inherently focused on making lives better. It’s a role that aligns perfectly with my passion for people and making positive impact through digital ways and means,” says Delany.

Delany started his role with Southern Cross Hospitals in June.

Source: Southern Cross media release, 31 July 2019

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. 

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