Significant Investments In Data And Digital Capability To Drive Transformation Of The Health And Disability System

The first tranche of the Hira programme underway is now underway following Government approval to invest up to $170 million over three years

The Ministry’s Deputy Director-General of Health for Data and Digital Shayne Hunter says Hira will bring together digital solutions and technologies that will transform the way people interact with health services and use their health information.

“Currently, health information often needs to be collated from a range of different providers and systems, which can create delays in care and put patients at risk,” says Shayne Hunter.

“Hira will allow New Zealanders and their chosen health providers to use their smartphone, tablet or computer to securely access a range of important health information through a virtual electronic health record.

“In the first instance this will include basic patient information, enrolled general practice, entitlements, medicines, COVID-19 vaccination status and test results, and summary primary care data.

“The initial focus is on putting New Zealanders in control of their health information so they can better manage their health and wellbeing. This includes looking at options for people who don’t have a digital device or prefer not to use one.

“Hira will also enable better clinical decision-making and allow services to be targeted in a way that improves equity for Māori, Pacific peoples and vulnerable populations.

“Over time, Hira will give New Zealanders and their trusted providers access to an even broader range of data such as information about allergies, adverse reactions, shared care plans, and wider immunisation information and laboratory results.

“New Zealanders will also be empowered to involve trusted whānau in their care, by delegating access to their health and wellbeing information, and will be able to see where health information is held about them and who is authorised to access this information.

“At the same time, Hira will make it easier for IT vendors and other innovators to design new data and digital services for their customers. This will be a catalyst for establishing new, digitally enabled models of care that will allow health and wider social services to be delivered in a joined-up way and will see in-person visits increasingly supplemented with telehealth and digital therapeutics; all of which can be tailored to meet the needs of individuals and whānau.

“The Ministry has worked with people and providers across the country to identify and prioritise Hira services, and we will continue to partner with our stakeholders to test Hira ideas and concepts to ensure Hira works well for everyone.”

Hira services and functionality will be delivered progressively through regular releases across three tranches of work through to the end of 2026.

“We’ve already built a solid platform for Hira through our work to implement key initiatives such as My Health Account and My Covid Record. By the end of tranche one in around mid-2024, we will have put in place many of the elements of Hira needed to lay the foundations for a digitally enabled health and disability system.”

In addition to the Hira programme, the Ministry has Government approval to invest a further $87 million over three years to support the replacement of aging technology and to address digital capability deficits.

“The Ministry has worked with DHBs to identify priority areas where investment is needed to support the health and disability system reforms and address historic underinvestment. Each of these priority areas align with the needs of DHBs and primary and community service providers, and includes a focus on technology, process optimisation, improved workforce capability and capacity, digital literacy and skills.”

What is Hira?

Hira is an ‘ecosystem’ of digital solutions and technologies that will transform the way people interact with health services and use their health information.

Health information is currently stored across a range of separate systems and isn’t always shared between providers. Hira won’t replace these systems but will instead allow information from multiple systems to be brought together to create a virtual electronic health record.

Hira is not a centralised, all-in-one, technology solution because it does not involve replacing existing health data systems.

The key to Hira is the use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that will allow existing patient management systems, online portals and other trusted sources of health information to be accessed and updated in a standardised way.

Bringing a person’s health information together to create a virtual electronic health record will improve clinical decision making and help lift quality of care by ensuring that trusted health providers have secure, easy access to complete patient information, in the right context and at the right time.

Hira will also allow New Zealanders to access and control their health information through their choice of website or application using a digital device such as a smartphone, tablet or computer. This will support New Zealanders to become more involved in decisions about their own care.

Over time, Hira will become an ecosystem of secure and trusted data and digital services, as innovators build new data services and functionality.

The development of new data services and functionality will enable joined-up delivery of health and wider social services that take account of a person’s whole needs. It will also be a catalyst for establishing new, digitally enabled models of care that will see in-person visits increasingly supplemented with telehealth and digital therapeutics.

Why is Hira needed?

Our health and disability system has a lot of data, but can sometimes be fragmented and incomplete, and inconsistent in the way it is collected and stored. At the same time, many data sources aren’t connected to each other and are difficult to access.

There is also limited data sharing between providers, which means doctors and other health professionals sometimes need to make clinical decisions on incomplete information.

This fragmentation and inconsistency also limit the ability to use anonymised health data to gain insights that could inform planning, procurement/commissioning decisions, and the development of new and improved health services.

In addition, privacy controls, data management and governance, and data sovereignty (ie, ownership) arrangements for health data are not clear or consistent across the country.

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