Hon Tony Ryall
Minister of Health
31 July 2014 Media Statement
Call for innovative health IT ideas
Health Minister Tony Ryall is encouraging health professionals to take part in the annual Clinicians’ Challenge by
submitting their IT solutions to improve health services.
“The Clinicians’ Challenge is a chance for health professionals to suggest innovative ways to use information systems,”
says Mr Ryall.
“Clinicians might suggest an idea to improve the way they work, make a system more efficient, or encourage collaboration
between health professionals.
“The idea might be an app to make health care easier for consumers, a tool to help health professionals make decisions,
or a system that allows people to make better use of health information.
“The winning clinician will receive a $10,000 grant, while another two finalists will each receive $5000. The grants
will help the winners to carry out further work on their proposals.
“Last year’s winners, Dr Aniva Lawrence and Dr Kyle Eggleton, proposed an online survey to give youth clinics and
general practices a greater understanding of the needs of their youth population.
“Dr Janet Liang, another previous winner, developed a language interpreter app called Listen Please to improve
communication with patients. Her app went on sale in June this year.
“Information technology is increasingly changing the way health services are delivered, and clinicians are in an ideal
position to identify areas where IT could be used to make improvements in care,” says Mr Ryall.
The Clinicians’ Challenge is a joint initiative by the National Health IT Board, and Health Informatics New Zealand
(HINZ).
The winners will be announced at the HINZ annual conference in November.
Entries close on 3 October 2014 and can be submitted online via the HINZ website: www.hinz.org.nz