Healthy systems
The role of technology in driving sustainable healthcare
Author: Gemma Abbott
New Zealand's healthcare system is at a pivotal juncture, with an urgent need to reimagine and evaluate its long-term sustainability. We are facing mounting pressures from an aging population, rising chronic disease rates, and resource constraints, leading to escalating healthcare costs and compromised patient outcomes.
Established healthcare services globally, which have so far failed to address these challenges, now find themselves in crisis – an urgent transformation for New Zealand is required to ensure continuity of effective and accessible services for years to come.
This whitepaper explores the core characteristics of sustainable healthcare system models, looking specifically at how quality, cost, supply and demand are intrinsically linked in the provision of future-proofed services. We examine the pivotal role of technologies such as AI, telemedicine, automation and smart use of digital platforms in affecting this balance, as key levers for transformative change.
The paper envisions the future of healthcare provision in New Zealand through strategic integration of current and emerging technologies, to support the long-term sustainability of New Zealand’s healthcare infrastructure.
