Hi Everyone

I trust that many of you have had the opportunity to take a break over the past couple of weeks with school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day all being in alignment. I'm looking forward to having a break shortly as Anna and I are soon heading to Stewart Island for a few days then onto Queenstown for the rest of the week. New Zealand is a fantastic place and that part of the country is a particular favourite of ours so we're looking forward to seeing the Autumn colours, enjoy the scenery and the peace and quiet.

Since 2019 started we've been especially busy. For the last couple of months in particular we've been preparing a report on behalf of our members to submit to the Health & Disability Sector Review Panel. This report is based on gaining an overview of the software applications landscape across New Zealand's public health sector and providing commentary on how to create an interoperable environment in this country's digital health space.

A number of NZHIT members have contributed to the development of this report and the NZHIT Board has especially been closely involved working on behalf of our member's interests. I'd also like to acknowledge the efforts of Mark Cox (formerly of ICNet/Baxter) who has worked directly with me to develop the groundwork for the report. So far, we have made two presentation to the Panel and the finalised report will be submitted to them by the end of this week. It will be made available to members once this process is completed.

You can also make your own submission to the Panel - go to their webpage here and follow the instructions. Feel free to contact me if you have any queries or would like assistance with your submission.

While we're on the topic of making submissions, you also have an opportunity to provide input to the recently released issues paper on "Technological change and the future of work". This has been produced by the New Zealand Productivity Commission to investigate the impact of technological change on the future of work - it aims to answer the following big questions....

* What are the likely impacts of technological change on work?

* What does this mean for workers, productivity and wellbeing?

* How can Government best position New Zealand to respond?

I encourage you/your organisation to read through the issues paper, think about the questions and participate by making a submission. You'll find the issues papers, one-pager and 2-minute video at our webpage here.

Have you checked out the massive number of events being held across the whole country during NZ Techweek19? Running from the 20th to 26th of May, every day in the week is packed with events at locations spread throughout New Zealand.

Of course, I'm sure you've already registered to attend our (NZHIT & HiNZ) 3rd Annual Emerging Tech in Health Symposium that is being held on the 21st and 22nd of May in Christchurch. If you haven't booked your place at this symposium then please don't procrastinate too much longer as it's filling up fast - we're expecting upwards of 300 people over the 2 days of action-packed programme and we're close to that number already.

In conjunction with this Symposium we're holding a joint NZHIT-HiNZ networking event on the evening of the 21st May.  This is being held at the same venue as the Symposium (Rydges Hotel) and is being sponsored by Sysmex New Zealand (a NZHIT Founding Member). To attend, just sign-up for the Symposium for either the 21st of May or for both days (21st & 22nd).

By the way, there are still opportunities to get directly involved with the Emerging Tech Symposium as a partnering sponsor. This is an excellent way to gain exposure whilst providing excellent value including complimentary registrations to the event itself, including the networking. Get in touch with me directly if you are interested -

There are also plenty more events for members to attend over the coming weeks and months. We pester you with plenty of updates as we don't want you to miss out but also please make sure to check-in on our events page to make sure you're abreast of what's coming.

Of course, Digital Health Week in November might seem a fair way off at the moment but there is no doubt that it's always best to register early for that one.

Also, our friends at the Medical Technology Association of NZ (MTANZ) are making a special offer to NZHIT Members who want to attend the HealthTech Conference on the 2nd and 3rd of July in Auckland. Register to attend this event and you'll receive a complimentary ticket to the Gala Awards Dinner (valued at $172).

NZHIT members have been in the news a lot lately, which indicates the fantastic work you're all doing in both New Zealand's health sector as well as on the international stage. There was a "NZ digital health movers and shakers" attendance at HealthLink's 25th anniversary event held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum recently.

‍HealthLink is a NZHIT Founding Member and we congratulate Michelle Creighton (HealthLink CEO) and her team for the contribution that this company has made to New Zealand's health sector.

As Shayne Hunter (MOH deputy director-general data & digital) said on the night, "HealthLink, you've done an amazing job. I honestly don't think New Zealand would be where it is today if we didn't have HealthLink".

Along with the news that NZHIT and Precision Driven Health have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together you'll find out more about what's happening at the NZHIT website.

You may also have noticed that we support the eHealthNews publication that has an excellent range of news item from across the health and digital space. We have a regular "Industry View" column where there are opportunities for members to contribute news items (click on the link to see the latest member contribution by Elsevier).

Please let me know if you're interested in this or other opportunities that you can take advantage of with eHealthNews.

Finally, I've got some good news and not so good news when it comes to people coming and going at NZHIT. The good news (fantastic in fact) is that we're very pleased to announce that Jacqui Williams (nee Hoey) has joined the NZHIT Board as a co-opted member.

Many of you will know Jacqui from the excellent work she does as Customer Success Manager, based in Christchurch, with Orion Health (A NZHIT Founding Member). Jacqui's first Board meeting will be on the 23rd of May in Christchurch and we're looking forward to the contribution she's going to be making at the governance level of the organisation.

On the other hand, I have to give you the sad news that Talie Schmidt-Geen will be leaving us at the end of May. Talie has been with us for the past 3 years as our membership & operations manager and has contributed to the progress we've made in providing value and benefits for our members during this time. It's time for a new challenge for Talie and we wish her all the best for her future endeavours.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this news update and many thanks also for your ongoing support and engagement with the NZHIT network. We're playing a significant role in New Zealand's health and disability sector with digital technologies becoming even more important when it comes to dealing with the increasing pressures in the sector, both now and in the future.

Kind Regards

Scott Arrol

Chief Executive Officer

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