Deputy director general data and digital at the Ministry of Health Shayne Hunter is stepping down after nearly 3.5 years in the role. In this episode he reflects on what has been achieved during this time and his vision for the future.

Medtech Global managing director Geoff Sayer discusses their new online payment service Medeor Pay by Link and its benefits to both practices and patients.

Executive Director of the College of Nurses Aotearoa Jenny Carryer and Chair of Nurse Practitioners NZ Sandra Oster discuss the online resources the College has recently developed on preparation and education to become a nurse practitioner.

Fellows of HiNZ Colin McKenzie (Sysmex sales and marketing director) and Kate Rhind (Healthpoint CEO) discuss how they got into health informatics, the importance of collaboration, workforce issues and the benefits of being FHINZ members.

Liz Manning from the College of Nurses Aotearoa and Todd Krieble from the NZ Institute of Economic Research discuss their upcoming online workshops for nurses, focusing on health policy and strategy and why we need more nurses working in these areas.

Fellows of Health Informatics NZ (FHINZ) Martin Wilson and Matt Valentine discuss how they got into clinical informatics, what being a Fellow means to them and advice for others wanting to get into the data and digital health sector.

Auckland DHB chief digital officer and chair of the National Digital Leadership Forum Shayne Tong, and executive director digital enablement at Hawke’s Bay DHB and deputy chair of the National Digital Leadership Forum Anne Speden discuss the role of the forum and the importance of collaboration as the health sector transitions to a newly reformed structure and approach. 

Becky George, interim clinical director for the Hira programme at the Ministry of Health, discusses the Hira programme and the importance of having a strong clinical voice in the development of the ecosystem of data and digital health systems.

Alcidion’s chief medical officer Malcolm Pradhan discusses the concept of virtual hospitals and how they are being used in response to Covid-19 to increase capacity in the health system. Also, how to scale virtual models of care, identify suitable patients and ensure a return on investment. 

Change in the health sector due to widespread reform is creating a ‘fight or flight’ mentality in data and digital staff. The general tech talent shortage is adding extra challenges to recruiting and retaining staff as skills become scarce and salaries increase exponentially. Spark Health chief executive Will Reedy and chief strategy director at specialist technology recruitment and professional coaching firm Potentia, Abinesh Krishan, discuss the issues and possible solutions.