T ake a trip with me back to 2018, a world where hopes were pinned on Harry and Meghan as the next power couple of the British Royal dynasty, Sophie Pascoe and Joelle King were decorated with multiple gold medals at the Commonwealth games and the leaders of North and South Korea put aside their differences for a short time to have a cup of tea. Hope seemed to be abundant. In that same year, I wrote an industry view on the potential threat to the health sector in the form of disruption caused by international organisations offering a digital health experience for every New Zealander via a consumer held record. At that stage, I had high hopes that by now we would have taken some collective steps to defend ourselves from this threat and take control of our own destiny. In early 2021, nearly two and a half years since I wrote this and now living in a Covid tinted world, I have been asked, if this level of threat has changed? Just as Harry and Meghan disrupted the plans of the Windsors, there
NZ health sector to meet these needs, the rate of transformation across the sector is still painfully slow. This is the perfect petri dish for someone to offer a solution (not necessarily the best fit for our communities) and push the sector to transform but in a way where we (collectively as health providers and NZ grown businesses that support the sector) have less control.
Digital transformation vs. digital disruption Digital transformation in any
industry is a whole scale change to the foundational components of a business from its operating model (how it delivers services) to its enabling infrastructure (technology, buildings etc). Health organisations that make a strategic commitment to digitally transform, do so in response to a significant number of ‘business’ challenges. For example, threat to sustainability, growing populations, chronic disease burden, ageing workforce, and growing inequity in healthcare within their communities. Essentially, digital transformation
Dr Will Reedy CEO Spark Health
IN EARLY 2021, A YEAR AFTER OUR FIRST LOCKDOWN, WE ARE YET TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TO EMPOWER NEW ZEALANDERS BY PROVIDING MORE ACCESS AND CONTROL TO THEIR OWN HEALTH INFORMATION OR THROUGH TOOLS SUCH AS CONSUMER HELD RECORDS.
remains a threat to the health sector of offshore disruption which is possibly growing as more technology developers will be seeking to focus on healthcare in response to the first global pandemic in the digital era. New Zealanders, like the rest of the world during the pandemic, have had a taste for what digital tools can enable in terms of empowering them to take more of an active role in their health care. While there remains an opportunity to digitally transform the
requires healthcare organisations to realise that the current operating model and enabling infrastructure aren’t meeting health needs in a sustainable way and that a digital ecosystem is a key enabler of change. As I traverse the sector now, there are only a handful of organisations that have started this journey. On the other hand, digital disruption as defined by Gartner, is an effect that changes the fundamental expectations and behaviours in a
dhconnec t . nz | CONNECT | 1 7
Powered by FlippingBook