IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Auckland GP Karl Cole, whose appointment as HML's clinical director has just been announced, wants to realise some of the enormous potential of telehealth.

This, along with improving the interface between HML and practices' enrolled patients, will be one his first tasks, he says in a media release from ProCare.

An Information Communications Technology expert says he hopes a new report will trigger greater access and connectivity across the Pacific.

The Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility report highlights the improved access to infrastructure and services across the Pacific and looks at the potential for greater ICT development.

The Facility director, Sanjivi Ransingham, says the report will help Pacific governments and the private sector identify opportunities for investment.

A University of Waikato Tauranga graduate has received international recognition for research exploring how communities can co-design smart city technology.

Developed in partnership with Tauranga City Council and the community, the study has been published as an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) long paper and would be presented at the OzCHI 2025 conference in Sydney on December 3, one of Australasia’s leading forums on human–computer interaction and design.

He was responding to questions about the impact of changes that may result from the "Putting the Patient First" report that noted a lack of cohesion among existing Dunedin services and the need for a new patient-focused vision.

Health boards say the shared system will give clinicians quicker information and reduce the risk of medication or treatment errors and will do away with "disparate, fragmented and in some cases obsolescent" information systems.

Group Manager Airports, Phil Chitty says SmartGate is a stress-free way for New Zealand and Australian ePassport holders to enter both countries, or leave New Zealand. All they need is their ePassport – the two-step SmartGate will do the rest.

“Federated Farmers will continue talking with Government and the successful parties to get a better understanding of the agreement and the timelines involved,” says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President.

“The Federation said the Government should take extra time to ensure it got the decision right so we hope today’s confirmation is evidence of that.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health is preparing to go to tender for an integrated national telehealth service, a Cabinet document reveals, and Scotland's NHS 24 service is a major inspiration.

New Zealand's executive gave the go-ahead for development of the system in June after a national telehealth service featured as a campaign promise in 2011.

"There's no such thing as low-hanging fruit now," Mark Reynolds, communications and engagement manager with New Zealand-based Health Benefits Ltd (HBL), warned attendees at a recent shared-services conference.

From 17 November the summary records of all patients who have not opted out of electronic health record sharing will be available to help authorised health professionals with a person's care, a media release from West Coast DHB says.

DHBs began consultation with staff on Friday about the national finance, procurement and supply chain programme, introduced by Health Benefits Ltd, to improve the way DHBs purchase goods and services.

The programme is expected to save half a billion dollars over the next 10 years with all of the savings being reinvested into supporting frontline health services. Link to media release

"Shared Services Southland and Beyond" is an informative brochure jointly produced by Environment Southland, the Invercargill City and Gore, Southland and Clutha districts’ councils.

The Ministry of Health is developing a new national telehealth system so more New Zealanders can receive health and injury advice over the phone or online.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said he hoped the new telehealth services would reduce pressure on emergency departments, the ambulance service and general practitioners.

He said the Central Agency Shared Services initiative by Treasury, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and State Services Commission begins providing finance, human resources and information and communications technology services next Wednesday.

"It's a significant shift and we anticipate similar types of initiatives in other parts of the public sector," Dr Coleman says.

“The Strategy and Action Plan has four key focus areas. First, all new services will be offered online by 2017. Online options are faster, easier and cheaper to use and will eventually become the default option for most people,” says Mr Tremain.

An RFP for a national integrated telehealth phone number to replace multiple service phone lines was due to be released last month (New Zealand Doctor, 12 March), but a letter from the Ministry of Health released last week says there has been a change of plan.

Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman has announced Homecare Medical as the preferred provider for the new national telehealth service.

New Zealand currently has multiple individual telehealth services that handle around two million calls a year but some of these services are not available 24/7.

The new software is courtesy of Vivid Solutions - New Zealand’s largest provider of video conferencing equipment and technology for the health industry - and could save district health boards (DHBs) millions of dollars a year.

Dargaville Hospital's latest "wishlist" project has a fancy solution.

The new technology will enable patients to sit with their health professional in smaller centres while talking to a specialist in Whangarei.

It’s the latest initiative to lower did not attend clinic rates which cost Waikato DHB more than $1.6 million annually.

While text reminders are commonplace for things like hair appointments, the logistics of introducing it in Waikato DHB where there are more than 106,000 outpatient attendances every year, meant the project needed good planning and execution.