The digital system saves at least ten minutes of administrative time per swab taken in the facility and about three minutes per swab registration in the labs. That time quickly adds up as there are up to 1200 swabs taken in MIQF every day. The labs also need capacity to significantly ramp up testing when there is a community outbreak of Covid-19. “It’s a challenge managing something at scale with a high volume of people and data,” explains Dreyer. “Early on, we could see the strain on the workforce where things were not automated, and we are now seeing the benefits of through-put and removing lag. “These staff have a tough job and it’s been heartwarming to see the sheer appreciation of people for the systems that have gone in and the difference it’s made to their work and the customer experience.” A new way of working The creation of BorderNET has been a huge collaborative effort and the sense of urgency led to a more agile approach to software development, with first versions of systems rapidly developed and used, then improved over time. “The number of hours people have put in to make this happen so quickly is phenomenal, but the real difference has been the nature of the collaboration across the country to co-design, use and iterate,” says Dreyer. “That’s been powerful as the systems end up being designed by the “THE NUMBER OF HOURS PEOPLE HAVE PUT IN TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN SO QUICKLY IS PHENOMENAL, BUT THE REAL DIFFERENCE HAS BEEN THE NATURE OF THE COLLABORATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO CO-DESIGN, USE AND ITERATE.” – MICHAEL DREYER
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NATIONAL SYSTEMS ROLL-OUT
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APR I L 2020 National Contact Tracing Solution goes live MAY 2020 National Clinical Data Repository for all Covid-19 tests goes live
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MIQF FACILITIES PER REGION
users themselves, so we know they meet their requirements.” The National Border Solution is built on Salesforce, a cloud-based system which was chosen as the IT platform for the National Bowel Screening Programme in 2019. When Covid-19 arrived on our shores, that platform was repurposed in just seven days in April 2020 to create the National Contact Tracing Solution. Since then it has been through 21 iterations, including its expansion to support the border process. Using a cloud based technology means new systems can be configured and deployed immediately across the country, as long as there is an internet connection, says Dreyer. The agile development method is common in some industries, but the complexity of health and risk-averse nature of the system has meant that, until recently, it has not often been put into practice across the sector. “It’s been a great experience for the team in the Ministry and our vendors to be able to collaborate directly with the sector and end users across the country on something that is constantly evolving,” Dreyer says. “Where it makes sense to have a national system, that should be the operating model of the future.” ©
JULY 2020 National Border Solution goes live
OCTOBER 2020 National register to record and track border worker testing status introduced NOVEMBER 2020 Border Clinical Management System goes live in Auckland
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