NZ doctors look forward to patient-centred future, but barriers remain high: report

Like many health care systems around the world, New Zealand’s healthcare system is under immense pressure, plagued by physician attrition, patient dissatisfaction and rising costs.

To re-imagine the future of healthcare and create a sustainable system that can meet the challenges of the post-pandemic era, the voices (and frustrations) of patients and physicians must be heard. The good news, however, is that both patients and physicians look forward to a shared future.

The Reimagining Better Healthcare report found that patients want more control over their health journey, but find it difficult to access the care they need in a limited system made up of many different physicians and specialist groups, departments and settings that don’t interact or integrate seamlessly.

Their top priority is access to digital solutions that allow early and rapid detection, evaluation and treatment of their health status and/or potential health problems.

Meanwhile, New Zealand physicians want to work in partnership with patients and 99% also believe digital solutions that encourage collaboration between patients and care teams are key.

They envision a future where patients will play a more active role in an integrated care team experience; Where physicians from all disciplines work together to meet the holistic needs of the patient.

To make this a reality, we need a connected ecosystem of smart technology, where medical devices will work in harmony, no matter the manufacturer or operating system.

The integration will enable physicians to access and analyze patient data in real time, supporting timely and efficient processing and improved patient communication and understanding.

But there are significant hurdles.

New Zealand physicians say they lack the communication, collaboration and technology skills needed to engage patients early in the clinical process, and 46% do not agree that they have timely access to electronic patient records.

After the pandemic, technological innovations are moving the world at an unprecedented pace, and Practitioners agree that it is an uphill battle, one that is constantly climbing the learning curve.

The report’s findings show that 45% of New Zealand physicians feel they do not receive enough training (initial and ongoing) to use available medical technology to its full potential.

The lack of data interoperability (the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and use information) poses a significant barrier to achieving effective patient and care team partnerships.

The current state of patient data collection is inefficient, with data collected from different devices and software not cohesive. This results in exhausting and inefficient workflow for physicians, who spend their time and energy collecting and analyzing data separately, and frustration with patients.

Exacerbating the problem, 49% of New Zealand physicians report that medical technologies within their departments do not integrate seamlessly with each other, leading to the need for manual data input. Patients express these concerns, with 35% expressing concern about physicians’ limited access to their relevant health data.

The lack of data interoperability is a major headache for physicians and hospitals.

This disrupts workflow and slows down healing. This hinders AI from generating public health insights, holistic patient data, and faster decision making. Underutilization of data hinders workflow and delays treatment, causing disruption to both care teams and patients.

Along with getting the patient involved sooner in the formal diagnostic process, interoperability is critical to the future of healthcare. Recently, a gathering of the world’s health technology assessment regulators in Adelaide agreed, among other measures, to Patient voices were severely lacking in the approval process for life-saving drugs and health technologies.

The post-pandemic era presents an exciting opportunity to shape a future where healthcare leverages the power of interconnected technology and data. Removing the barriers facing our industry will provide a more sustainable healthcare system where patients and physicians are partners in advancing the patient healthcare journey together.

Amit Yadav Currently CEO of GE Healthcare, a global medical technology and digital solutions provider in Australia and New Zealand. He has been with GE Healthcare for over 15 years and has held various positions such as Chief Development Office for ANZ; Commercial Excellence Leaders of ASEAN, Korea and ANZ; ANZ Executive Business Development Manager.