Clanwilliam Health is pleased to announce Mike Weiss has been appointed as CEO effective from 1 October 2020.

Mr Weiss previously served as Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of the business.

He takes over from Michelle Creighton who decided to step down after more than 10 years in senior leadership roles in the business.

“My sincere thanks go to Michelle for her many years of exemplary service; she has left the business well placed to continue to support healthcare providers, funders and patients in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong,” Mr Weiss says.

“As Deputy CEO I’ve worked closely with Michelle and I, along with our leadership team, will ensure that this transition is smooth for our customers.”

Clanwilliam Health was created in 2019 when Auckland-based healthcare technology companies HealthLink and Konnect NET merged. Mr Weiss served as CEO of Konnect NET prior to the merger.

Mr Weiss says he is delighted to have the opportunity to lead Clanwilliam Health.

“Clanwilliam Health has a rich heritage of supporting healthcare providers, payers and patients in New Zealand and Australia through a range of products and services,” he says.

Mr Weiss says Clanwilliam Health will remain focussed on its customers, patient outcomes, provider experience and protecting sensitive information.

“There are significant growth opportunities in New Zealand and Australia. The organisations that will be successful in the next decade are those that are able to master the balance between focussing on their core value proposition and being able to collaborate with others for better patient outcomes.”

 

Next stage of the journey

Clanwilliam Health is part of the Ireland-headquartered Clanwilliam Group family of healthcare technology and services businesses.

Beginning in 2017, Clanwilliam Group has invested in excess of NZ $100m in the Australasian healthcare technology market. Other Clanwilliam Group businesses in the region include Toniq and MBS.

Clanwilliam Group CEO Howard Beggs says Mr Weiss will lead the next stage of Clanwilliam’s journey in New Zealand and Australia.

“Clanwilliam Health is the anchor for Clanwilliam Group’s continued growth, innovation and investment in the Australasian market. We remain committed to investing in strong and innovative healthcare technology businesses that support clinicians in delivering great care to their patients.

“I’m confident that Mike and the local leadership team will execute on Clanwilliam Group’s vision of making healthcare better for everyone”.

 

For media assistance, please contact:

Maggie McNaughton

Clanwilliam Health publicist

021 613198

[email protected]

A new, integrated e-prescription messaging service called Secure Script has been launched nationwide to help healthcare providers deliver safe, effective care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Secure Script is the result of a collaboration among pharmacy software vendor RxOne, Clanwilliam Health’s HealthLink and pharmacy software vendor Toniq, and PMS vendors Indici, MyPractice and Medtech.

Secure Script is integrated into GP and pharmacist software, creating a secure, seamless workflow that eliminates the need for pharmacists to manually re-enter prescriptions into their system.

The system is already up and running on RxOne, Toniq, MyPractice and Indici and being rolled out for wider use this week. Medtech will also be coming on board shortly.

The new service enables GPs to send an NZePS signature exempt prescription electronically to a pharmacy nominated by the patient. The prescription is received and dispensed, and the patient is contacted via text or phone when the prescription is ready to be picked up. Some pharmacies can deliver the prescription to the patient’s home.

Prior to this solution, pharmacists were receiving prescriptions via a range of inefficient channels such as email, phone, fax or in person, with many prescriptions going missing causing extra work for GPs and pharmacists.

And it is not just GPs jumping on board. Waitemata, Auckland and Counties Manukau DHBs will start using Secure Script soon – the first time they have ever used an e-prescription service for patients discharged from hospital needing a prescription.

Secure, contactless solution needed

With almost all GPs now delivering remote consultations, a contactless solution was needed to ensure prescriptions could reach pharmacies securely, efficiently and in real time with minimal face-to-face contact.

Clanwilliam Health deputy CEO Mike Weiss says it’s fantastic to see the health IT sector coming together to find a solution that benefits the country.

“We want to do everything we can as a health technology provider to support our frontline healthcare professionals in these challenging times. This collaboration is for the greater good of the health of New Zealanders.”

He says Secure Script is secure, easy to use and improves the workflow for GPs and pharmacists.

“Our goal is always better patient outcomes and Secure Script helps that goal,” Mr Weiss says.

He says Clanwilliam Health is a trusted player in the health IT sector, which makes broad scale collaboration possible, and is reassuring for healthcare providers using Secure Script.

“It’s important to be inclusive to ensure all parties are able to use Secure Script to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep people safe.”

Mr Weiss says the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the development of e-prescribing solutions.

“It’s created the impetus for change that was needed. I think e-prescriptions will be a lasting change.”

Trusted channel

RxOne managing director Margie Peat says health sector collaboration and interoperability is something RxOne values.

“Everybody worked hard to speed the process and rapidly get it to market in a time of stress for pharmacies,” Ms Peat says.

She says filling prescriptions before the patient arrives also helps improve patient safety.

“It helps pharmacists and patients focus on the medications consulting process to improve adherence and pick up other issues patients may have. Our pharmacies are delighted to see this innovation occurring at last.”

Toniq general manager Andrew Grant says pharmacists can quickly receive, view and dispense the prescription and have peace of mind knowing it has arrived securely via a trusted channel directly into their Toniq Dispensary software.

“It’s really exciting to be able to deliver a solution during the pandemic that provides an efficient and safe means for healthcare providers to enable patients to receive their medication in a way that reduces everyone’s exposure to COVID-19,” Mr Grant says.

Pharmacies will need to register online with HealthLink to access Secure Script. GPs can check with their PMS vendor about how to get started.

Website information:

Clanwilliam Health

Toniq

RxOne

Indici

MyPractice

Medtech

 

For media assistance, please contact:

Maggie McNaughton

Clanwilliam Health publicist

021 613198

[email protected]

(L-R Northland DHB’s Dr Alan Davis and Dr Di Davis, Clanwilliam Health’s Paul Graham)

Referrals between hospital departments in Northland DHB can now be made electronically, saving precious time and improving patient safety.

GPs have been e-referring into hospitals in the region since 2013 but referrals between hospital departments were paper-based until the beginning of this year.

In a groundbreaking move, Northland DHB has partnered with Clanwilliam Health (formerly HealthLink) to build an integration into the hospital platform to enable e-referrals to be sent between hospital departments and beyond.

E-referrals can now also be made from hospital departments to a wide range of community providers, private specialists and, in the near future, to Auckland-based tertiary services. Some community and government organisations can also e-refer into the hospitals.

Northland DHB digital projects clinical director Dr Alan Davis says eliminating paper referrals improves efficiency and patient safety.

“Patient safety is key. Paper referrals are high risk because they can go missing, have incomplete information or poor handwriting, which can be hugely problematic and time-consuming for everyone involved,” Dr Davis says.

“It’s about building a patient-centred health ecosystem using patient-centred digital referral networks.”

Anyone to anyone e-referrals

Dr Davis says the ultimate goal is an e-referral platform in which anyone can refer to anyone within the wider health ecosystem.

“We are now moving towards that goal where anyone can refer to anyone using a single integrated platform, which would be a New Zealand first.”
Clanwilliam Health director of customer experience Paul Graham says referrals come into hospitals from GPs electronically, so the next logical step was to make referrals between hospital departments and beyond electronic as well.

“We are leveraging existing investment in HealthLink SmartForms to improve patient outcomes and help drive paper out of hospitals,” he says.

E-referrals can also be sent to hospitals in other DHBs, for example, from Whangarei Hospital in Northland DHB to Middlemore Hospital in Counties Manukau DHB.

“Again, this saves time and hassle and ensures the referrals are arriving at the intended destination with all the complete information.”

 

Background information:

HealthLink: HealthLink, which is part of Clanwilliam Health, is a market-leading health system integrator in New Zealand and Australia. Nearly all secure clinical communications used in New Zealand are shared through HealthLink and it’s the largest provider of secure clinical messaging services in Australia.

For media assistance, please contact:
Maggie McNaughton
Clanwilliam Health publicist
021 613198
[email protected]

Auckland-headquartered healthcare technology companies HealthLink and Konnect NET have come together this week not just in spirit, but also in person.

Konnect NET staff moved from their Freemans Bay office into HealthLink’s current premises in Newmarket, Auckland, bringing the two companies together under one roof.

However, there will be no change to current products, services or support for HealthLink and Konnect NET customers.

HealthLink and Konnect NET merged at the end of last year to form Clanwilliam Health. Both companies have been part of the Dublin-headquartered Clanwilliam Group family of businesses since 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Clanwilliam Health is the anchor for Clanwilliam Group’s continued growth, investment and innovation in the Asia-Pacific healthcare technology markets.

Clanwilliam Health CEO Michelle Creighton says she’s excited to have the combined strength of the HealthLink and Konnect NET teams under one roof.

“The merge has felt natural. Our shared values and vision have made for a perfect culture fit. The integration has been seamless so it’s simply business as usual on all fronts,” she says.

“HealthLink and Konnect NET together are financially stronger and more diversified, which means even more value for patients and healthcare providers.”

New Clanwilliam Health website

A new Clanwilliam Health website has also been launched this week.
It has a central landing page from where customers can access the individual HealthLink and Konnect NET websites, both of which remain unchanged. There are plans to eventually bring them together into a more fully integrated website.

“The new website showcases our portfolio of technology solutions across the health sector,” Mrs Creighton says.

“Together with our offices in Sydney and Townsville in Australia, we’re well placed to give our customers the support they need.”

Visit the new Clanwilliam Health website at https://clanwilliam.health

About:

HealthLink:
The market leading healthcare system integrator in Australia and New Zealand. Nearly all secure clinical communications across the New Zealand healthcare system are carried via HealthLink and it’s the largest provider of secure clinical messaging services in Australia.

Konnect NET:
Konnect NET was established in 2008 and its SureMed product is used by major New Zealand insurers to manage health information requests for underwriting and claims. Konnect NET has a growing presence in the Hong Kong market.

For more information please contact:
Maggie McNaughton
Clanwilliam Health publicist
+64 21 613198
[email protected]

Auckland-based healthcare technology companies HealthLink and Konnect NET are merging to form a new organisation named Clanwilliam Health.

The merger will take place over December 2019 and January 2020 and will see Konnect NET staff move from their Freemans Bay office to HealthLink’s current premises in Newmarket.

Clanwilliam Health will be led by the same team that has successfully led both HealthLink and Konnect NET for several years.

Michelle Creighton, CEO of HealthLink, will serve as CEO of Clanwilliam Health and Mike Weiss, CEO of Konnect NET, will serve as deputy CEO. They will be supported by a leadership team drawn from both businesses.

HealthLink and Konnect NET have been part of the Dublin-headquartered Clanwilliam Group family of businesses since 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Beginning in 2017, Clanwilliam Group has invested in excess of NZ$100 million in the Australasian healthcare technology market. Clanwilliam Group remains committed to investing in strong and innovative healthcare technology businesses that support clinicians in delivering great care to their patients.

Clanwilliam Health will be the anchor for Clanwilliam Group’s continued growth, innovation and investment in the Australasian market.

Stronger together

Combining the strengths of two great companies will create a financially stronger business that is better able to invest in its products, people and customer service.

It will be business as usual for HealthLink and Konnect NET customers with no change to the current products, services and support.

Ms Creighton says the merger formalises the sense of partnership the two organisations already enjoy.

“It’s the blending of two teams who share a common vision of innovation to improve patient outcomes. Together we can better execute Clanwilliam Group’s vision of making healthcare better for everyone”.

She says together they will strengthen their solution offerings to the sector.

“We’re already capitalising on that with a joint development project that we look forward to sharing with the market in 2020.”

Best of both businesses

Mr Weiss says the drive behind both HealthLink and Konnect NET is to create better health outcomes for patients.

“We have passionate people from both organisations who already share this common purpose.”

He says they have the support of a great leadership team to capitalise on the best of what both businesses have to offer.

“The extensive network reach and platform capabilities of HealthLink offers Konnect NET even greater opportunity to add value to our SureMed customers.”

About:

HealthLink: The market leading healthcare system integrator in Australia and New Zealand. Nearly all secure clinical communications across the New Zealand healthcare system are carried via HealthLink and it’s the largest provider of secure clinical messaging services in Australia.

Konnect NET: Konnect NET was established in 2008 and its SureMed product is used by major New Zealand insurers to manage health information requests for underwriting and claims. Konnect NET has a growing presence in the Hong Kong market.

For more information please contact:

Maggie McNaughton
HealthLink & Konnect NET publicist
+64 21 613198
[email protected]

The fax machine is almost truly dead in New Zealand’s largest city with almost all patient referrals from primary to secondary care being sent electronically.

Auckland, which has a population of 1.6 million people, is leading the world when it comes to adopting the ground-breaking technology.

The city’s journey to its paperless referral system began in 2012 when Australasia’s largest health IT network, HealthLink, developed CareConnect e-Referrals for the Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Auckland District Health Boards.

HealthLink’s New Zealand national manager, Eric van der Sluis, says e-Referrals improve the transfer of information between primary and secondary care in several crucial ways.

“Fax machines are slow, clunky and unreliable. Faxed referrals can go missing, the patient information is not secure and there’s often incomplete information, which can lead to errors,” Eric says.

The e-Referral system is secure and has been designed from the ground up to protect private healthcare information.

“All clinical information is encrypted and protected with digital certificate-based system authentication.”
Eric says the system is easy to set up.

“For GPs, specialists or allied health workers with a HealthLink-compliant Practice Management System, integration and set up is incredibly simple. It’s even remotely switched on and configured by HealthLink. For other users, the web-based HealthLink Workplace solution can be used to independently send and receive e-Referrals securely.”

GP describes e-Referrals as game changer

Dr Jim Kreichbaum works as a GP at Mt Wellington Family Health Centre in South Auckland, which he established in 1993. He also works part-time at Auckland District Health Board as Primary Care Director Cardiovascular, Adult Medicine, Community and Long-Term Conditions Directorates.

Jim says moving from a paper-based referral system to e-Referrals has been a game changer.

“At the DHB end, the quality of the referrals coming in has increased substantially with more detailed information enabling the specialist to make a better decision about the patient’s care.”

Not only is the quality of patient information better, e-Referrals are more secure than faxed or posted referrals, which often go missing or have incomplete information, he says.

“E-Referrals also mean that patients are more likely to be seen in a timely manner.”
Jim says he can’t highlight enough the advantage of being able to receive specialist advice via the e-referral system.

“As a GP you can message a specialist with questions or advice about a patient and they get back to you the next day, or even the same day. The specialist might even advise you the patient doesn’t need to come in for an appointment.”

He says the ability to get advice from the specialist can save time for both the patient and specialist by avoiding unnecessary appointments.

“It’s so much better for patient care,” he says.

The e-Referral system automatically pre-populates the patient information from the PMS, meaning the GP doesn’t have to fill-in all the information and the risk of mistakes being made or information being left out is reduced.

Once the e-Referral has been sent, the GP gets an instant message saying it’s been received by the DHB. The GP then gets a prompt response as to whether the e-Referral has been accepted or not.

“I would recommend e-Referrals. They are so much better than paper-based referrals on so many counts. It’s a no-brainer to make the switch.”

Transformation of communication between services

Dr Helen Liley agrees. She is a GP in South Auckland, a GP Liaison for Counties Manukau District Health Board, Clinical Director of POAC (Primary Options for Acute Care) and Lead Clinical Editor for Auckland Regional HealthPathways.

E-Referrals, she says, have transformed communication between primary and secondary care. If e-Referrals are available, she doesn’t know why GPs wouldn’t use them.

“E-referrals take two clicks of the mouse and the e-Referral form opens. It automatically fills in information for you from the PMS, it often prompts you for information pertinent to your specific referral and you can pull across clinical notes into a free text box to give extra information so you don’t have to re-write them. They are intuitive and easy to use,” she says.

For Dr Liley, receiving immediate confirmation once the e-Referral has been received is incredibly reassuring.

“I know straight away it’s been received. I can also track the progress of the e-Referral to see where it is in the system.

“In the days of faxed referrals, I was always concerned they would go missing or end up at the wrong address; there was never an immediate acknowledgement that they had been received in the correct place.

“The absolute worst thing is if everybody thinks something is happening for a patient but actually nothing is happening because their referral got lost.”
E-Referrals also have an addendum function, allowing additional notes to be added after it’s been sent, if needed.

“This is really helpful if you’ve forgotten to add something or you get test results or other information in after the e-Referral has been sent. It saves a lot of time,” she says.

To find out more, please visit www.healthlink.co.nz

ENDS