An interim national health plan in New Zealand highlights the contribution of digital tools in enabling the health system to deliver more care at home and in the community.
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora – Maori Health Authority have jointly developed the Te Pae Tata New Zealand Interim Health Plan 2022, which outlines a series of tasks in developing a “uniform, affordable and sustainable” health system.
It states that the integration of digital technologies into the health delivery system is an “essential part of the transition to a single health system.”
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
One of the six priority actions in the interim Te Pae Tata is “developing greater use of digital services” to provide more care in families and communities.
The New Zealand Government is committed to “creating opportunities” for people to use digital tools to access and use their health information, book appointments, receive phone and video consultations and use device to monitor their health at home. These tools include personal computers, smartphones, patient portals and digitally powered clinical devices for remote health monitoring.
“Access to health information, self-monitoring and remote monitoring enables people, whānau and communities to better manage their own health and well-being,” it explains in the plan.
The plan also outlines the need for digital tools in supporting the health workforce. “Well-designed information systems can reduce [administrative] It says:
To enhance the adoption of digital tools, the following actions on digital health have been identified:
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Create and implement actions to bring national consistency to data and digital capabilities and solutions on Te Whatu Ora, including streamlining legacy systems inherited from DHB and Shared Service Agency to improve internal operability and reduce operational costs;
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Implement Hira, an integrated, user-friendly, national electronic health record at an agreed level that ensures the expected return on investment and implements all measures feasible to ensure that project milestones are met;
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Scale and align population health digital services developed to support the COVID-19 response to serve other key population health priorities;
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Improve the interoperability of data and digital systems across the hospital network, and between primary, community, and secondary care facilities; and
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Improving digital access to primary care as an option to improve access and choice, including virtual after-hours and telehealth, focuses on rural community.
To successfully leverage digital services, the government plans to “invest in the infrastructure needed to support healthcare automation, bringing systems and services online to catch up.” with the needs and expectations of the public.” Investments will also be poured into providing more digital health options to improve efficiency and address operational and security risks.
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
The launch of the interim national health plan comes after the New Zealand government consolidated 20 former County Health Boards into two public health services – Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora.
“We have strengthened the public health system and now we plan to achieve national service coverage and consistent operating policies across the country,” said Health Secretary Andrew Little. on the promulgation of the provisional plan Te Pae Tata.
In Budget 2022, the government invested NZ$11.1 billion ($6.5 billion) in health – the largest to date, including more than NZD 600 million ($400 million) for health system digital infrastructure and data.
