Kia ora members, we recently had a constructive and wide-ranging conversation with Health NZ’s new Digital Transformation Committee (DTC), chaired by Melanie Simpson. We shared the DHA’s role and that we are representing around 160 organisations across primary, secondary and allied care, roughly 80% of the industry. We outlined our six priorities: structured engagement, interoperability, AI readiness, strategic procurement and partnerships, connected digital mental health, and digital foundations.
The committee was very engaged and we talked through a wide range of issues and areas, including:
- Consumer adoption. Technology only improves outcomes when people trust it and can use it. The DTC committee was very interested in how DHA and its members were supporting consumer education and adoption of digital tools. We highlighted that a wide range of DHA members operate and run services and applications that are entirely consumer focused (B-C) and that there was a lot of innovation occurring in this area. It was noted by the committee and us that HNZ has not been very focused on consumer engagement – which funding constraints was noted as a driver of some of this. We also highlighted the special interest groups and suggested DHA’s Personalised Health SIG as a place to explore this. It was also noted and discussed that many start-ups building consumer tools struggle to get connected with the wider system as much of the focus in the sector is B2B – products and systems for clinicians or the workforce and there is hesitancy due to lack of security standards in connecting B2C systems into the B2B world.
- AI and information flows. It was noted by us that New Zealander’s are already using offshore AI tools for health questions (we have an above the global medium utilization of AI in New Zealand). It was discussed that current these tools are dominated by US or other offshore models that lack context and a feedback loop for NZ. To avoid growing AI driven misuse of services there needs to be a stronger commitment t to develop NZ based sovereign tools that can not only guide NZers to NZ services but also provide a close ed loop for training better advice. We also discussed how AI could improve workflows, such as giving clinicians and consumers lab results at the same time, and why primary and community care must be part of the investment picture. We also covered Sovereign AI and how the DHA via our industry members could support more experimentation and standardisation in partnership with Health New Zealand and other government agencies.
- Procurement and partnerships. We made the case for earlier market engagement, proportionate commercial terms, shorter procurement cycles and outcome-based partnerships. Health NZ noted that market engagement is already under way in areas such as radiology, cloud and clinical systems. The committee did note and acknowledge that they are also challenging the clumsiness of government procurement when it comes to supporting innovation in health.
- Standards and architecture. The committee showed strong interest in clear long-term architectural direction, alongside “no regrets” opportunities to improve workflows sooner, and in who should lead an agile approach to digital standards.
- Workforce education. We discussed how digital health and AI can be better introduced in clinical training right across the board and how important it is we are looking to build a digtal first capability in the emerging workforce
What’s next
The committee welcomed the idea of a follow-up conversation between the DTC and the DHA on consumer adoption, with ideas reported back in three to six months. Digital mental health, cybersecurity and maintenance, and decision rights are also on the list for a future meeting. Owners and timeframes are still to be confirmed.
The tone was positive throughout. Our key message was that the sector is ready to contribute its expertise and innovation and that earlier engagement, clear architectural direction and flexible partnership approaches will help great ideas connect with the wider system. We will keep you updated as this develops.
The sector is ready to contribute its expertise and innovation – earlier engagement and clear direction will help great ideas connect with the wider system.
— DHA key message to the Digital Transformation Committee
