F R O M T H E E D I T O R ’ S D E S K
What a year it has been!
One area where we have seen significant progress over the past 12 months has been around systems that keep our communities safe from Covid-19. Minister of Health Andrew Little said in March that in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the health system had achieved greater transformation of digital services in a matter of weeks than it had in many years. Our cover article explores the data and digital health systems that have been deployed at the border and in our Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facilities to automate processes and digitally link people with their Covid-19 test requests and results, as well as share that data nationally. I also visited Christchurch Hospital where I discovered how they are using patient flow technologies to keep patients moving through the emergency department and hospital, then back out into the community. Hospital capacity has been a hot topic in recent months and the entire health system is straining under the pressure of the increasing number, age and acuity of patients coming through their doors. As pointed out in the article, digital tools cannot fix a full hospital, but they can provide better visibility of likely issues and pain points, allowing staff to problem-solve early. Minister Little recently announced sweeping reform of the health and disability system, which he says will encourage innovation and integration and ensure patient information is shared across the country. While the reforms have been broadly welcomed, the devil will be in the detail when it comes to implementation and strong leadership will be fundamental to realising the vision. A new structure alone will not fix the barriers preventing digital transformation of the health system, but recognition of technology as a key enabler of the reforms and an area “long overdue for attention” are good first steps. We have chosen Digital Health CONNECT as the name of this new magazine because an important role of Health Informatics NZ (HiNZ) is to connect many diverse professional groups and individuals, making it easier for you to share ideas and collaborate. CONNECT will be published five times a year, and we intend to showcase some of the amazing innovations and technologies being used to transform the health and disability sector and improve equity and outcomes across New Zealand.
Rebecca McBeth editor
TA L K B A C K Email your feedback or topic suggestions to editor@hinz.org.nz L E T T E R S T O E D I T O R Readers are invited to submit a brief letter for publication to editor@hinz.org.nz. Please aim for 200 words or less. If you wish for your letter to be published in CONNECT, please mark it ‘for publication’. Published letters must include your name, job title and organisation. HiNZ reserves the right to make minor edits to fit space constraints.
I hope you enjoy reading Digital Health CONNECT — if you have any feedback, please email me at editor@hinz.org.nz
dhconnec t . nz | CONNECT | 5
Powered by FlippingBook