Media Release

9 August 2006

2006 Sharing Excellence award winners announced

An innovative project that saves precious blood products and a 24-hour health helpline are among the winners of this year's Sharing Excellence in Health and Disability Information Management Awards.

The New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS), Wellington Independent Practice Association Limited (WIPA), Webhealth and McKesson New Zealand have been recognised for projects which show innovation and excellence in information management at the awards which were run by the Ministry of Health and announced at the Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ) Conference in Auckland on August 9.

Debbie Chin, Ministry of Health Deputy Director-General, said the winning projects had enormous potential for use across many health service providers.

“It is very encouraging to see health information being channelled for useful purposes by a wide range of service providers. Health information is being used to empower communities to make good decisions for their own health and well-being, and this is certainly worthy of an award”.

The New Zealand Blood Service's Demand Management Project reduces over-ordering and waste of blood and blood products in hospitals by providing high quality information on transfusion practice to hospital clinicians and improving efficiency.

Webhealth is an internet-based information source that gives communities 24-hour access to health information. Based in Hamilton, Webhealth Linkage have compiled a range of information topics, contact details for local health and social services, community notices and online chat assistance, enabling people to take control of their health and well-being needs.

WIPA, a management services organisation to four District Health Boards (DHBs), developed the Integrated Query Engine (IQE), a software tool that enables primary care providers such as General Practitioners to better manage practice databases. As a result, WIPA is one of the first groups in the country to deliver Primary Health Organisation (PHO) Service Utilisation reports that will help monitor access and identify trends among people who are enrolled in their practices.

New Zealand’s 24-hour health telephone triage and advice line was recognised for improving New Zealanders' access to health advice and services. Healthline is a free nurse-led service run by McKesson New Zealand. Decision software specifically modified for New Zealand use is designed to support the nurses who guide patients to appropriate care while at the same time, providing comprehensive automated call documentation and reporting for analysis, risk management and quality improvement.

The Sharing Excellence in Health and Disability Information Management Awards, now in their fourth year, are separate from the New Zealand Health Innovation Awards presented in June.

Each winner gave a brief presentation about their project at the HINZ Conference which was held at the Aotea Centre in Auckland on August 9.

ENDS

For more information please contact
Michelle Quirke
Media Advisor
(04) 496 2265 or 027 434 6878.