A bold new initiative is set to help transform the future of primary care in New Zealand. Today marks the official launch of Health Accelerator, an innovation hub dedicated to developing and deploying digital solutions that empower primary care and improve patient care.

Health Accelerator is a collaborative joint venture between four of New Zealand’s largest primary care organisations — Pegasus, Pinnacle, ProCare, and Tū Ora Compass Health — collectively representing more than 500 general practices and serving over 2 million patients across the country.

Bindi Norwell, Co-Chair at Health Accelerator says: “Our purpose is a simple but powerful one. We want to help drive innovation in primary care to improve clinical workflows, enhance patient experiences, and reduce the administrative burden on healthcare teams — so doctors, nurses, and practice staff can focus on what they do best: caring for their patients.

“This is about game changing innovation, increasing productivity and expanding innovation for primary care, particularly through leveraging AI and digital solutions,” says Norwell.

“New Zealand's health tech sector is valued at $3.7 billion and experiencing an annual growth rate of 8%. Health Accelerator is designed to speed up healthcare innovation by pooling resources, insights, and expertise. Essentially, it’s about creating a smarter, and faster path to innovation,” continues Norwell.

Justine Thorpe, fellow Co-Chair at Health Accelerator adds: “We know there are innovative digital solutions that can help address many of the challenges our network of practices face. Through Health Accelerator, we’re partnering closely with practices, start-ups, researchers, and government agencies to identify real-world problems and co-design scalable solutions that can benefit the entire sector.

“The first innovation we rolled out across the country was robots, which are aimed at supporting cardiovascular disease risk assessments (CVDRA), ensuring all ACC funding is claimed by practices where applicable, and two inbox management assistants. These tools are already making a difference by reducing the time clinicians spend on administrative tasks. We have developed about 10 robots to date and plan to develop more.” continues Thorpe.

“We are now looking at what other opportunities it will be able to announce soon, with AI scribes likely to be high on the list,” concludes Thorpe.

Health Accelerator is also encouraging healthcare practices facing challenges that could be addressed through a digital innovation to reach out, so solutions can be co-designed with users of the solutions in mind. Equally, the company is actively seeking partnerships with healthcare providers, innovators, and organisations who share its vision for a more connected, patient-focused future.

For more information, visit www.healthaccelerator.co.nz