How do we justify spending healthcare dollars on digital health in New Zealand?
The rapid transformation of the healthcare sector due to technological advances has led to pressing questions around investment in digital health. In New Zealand, healthcare spending accounts for a significant portion of GDP, making it crucial to justify any allocation of resources to digital initiatives.
Digital health encompasses a range of innovations, including electronic health records, telehealth, clinical decision support, and self-service portals. Digital health is increasingly viewed not just as a cost but as an enabler of productivity, patient satisfaction, and cost control. However, as highlighted in international contexts such as Queensland's EMR rollout, digital health's benefits, such as reducing unwarranted care variation and enhancing safety, often lack direct short-term financial returns. This in turn, makes measuring its value through traditional ROI insufficient.
New Zealand’s healthcare system faces unique challenges and opportunities in its digital transformation journey: With persistent labour shortages, digital tools can streamline workflows, reduce clinician burnout, and improve job satisfaction. The risk of a "digital divide" means that policies must ensure equitable access to digital tools across urban and rural regions. Additionally, cybersecurity concerns have grown reflecting increased awareness of digital vulnerabilities.
However, many digital initiatives, such as EMRs, have large upfront costs and may take years to yield quantifiable returns. By focusing on prevention, wellness, and personalised care, New Zealand can achieve a more sustainable and efficient healthcare system. This will without a doubt, require sustained investment in foundational digital infrastructure and collaboration between government, providers, and private partners.
Investing in digital health is not simply about modernising healthcare operations; it is about transforming the system to deliver better outcomes at scale. While initial costs can be substantial, the long-term benefits of enhanced care, improved clinician satisfaction, and economic gains, make a compelling case for continued investment. By adopting robust evaluation frameworks and addressing barriers to adoption, we can ensure that its digital health initiatives drive meaningful and equitable improvements across the healthcare system.