New Zealand's project to build a national health information platform has been put on hold due to cuts to its digital health budget.
In a statement to Healthcare IT News, Te Whatu Ora (New Zealand Ministry of Health) director of digital channels Michael Dreyer confirmed that the Hira project had been suspended.
“After completing the first phase of Gila and building a solid foundation for the project, we are pausing the project to consider future plans.”
He said Hira would form part of Te Whātu Ora's 10-year infrastructure investment plan, which is currently being developed and could reportedly be published by the end of the year.
The larger context
The New Zealand government recently decided to set aside about NZ$300 million ($200 million) for digital health initiatives over the next four years, including Hira, including funding for free telehealth services provided through advocacy group NZ Telehealth Forum. The cuts come as the government focuses on improving frontline services in Budget 2024.
Since 2021, the government has invested almost NZ$1 billion (more than $600 million) in strengthening the health system's data and digital infrastructure and capabilities.
The digital health budget cuts coincide with the Ministry of Health's decision to slow down the expansion of health ICT to focus on “more robust” platforms and the move to the cloud. In a briefing for Health Minister Dr Shane Letty last year, the ministry revealed that the health system had a “patchwork” of more than 4,000 clinical and business applications, many of which were at or nearing the end of their life and were carrying debt.
“We recognise both the challenges of the various data and digital systems we inherited from our previous organisation and the huge potential for digital services to improve the delivery of health services,” Dreier told the publication.
The first phase of Hira implementation was completed in June. My Health Record now provides access to health information such as National Health Index details and vaccination records. The National Event Management Service is also up and running, providing near real-time notification of death events. The project has also developed a connector plane to access the Hira API and a developer portal to test the API.
Hira has also taken the first steps towards enabling access to information on prescribed and dispensed medicines and primary care overviews.
