Roundup: NZ names new Health Minister and more briefs

Infectious disease doc Verrall named Health Minister

A parliament shakeup led by New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins saw Ayesha Verrall taking over health from Andrew Little, who is now handling defence. 

An infectious disease physician, Dr Ayesha Verrall became an MP in 2020 and since then, she has held the roles of associate Health Minister and Minister for Covid-19 Response.

Clintel to power HEAL Urgent Care’s upcoming Newcastle site

Clintel Systems has been chosen to provide an end-to-end PAS, EMR, and billing and claiming solution to the soon-to-rise HEAL Urgent Care facility in Newcastle.

Its CareRight system will be used to manage patient waiting, triage times, and patient journeys. It will also be used to handle pre-admission and post-discharge care. 

CareRight is expected to be fully deployed along with the launch of HEAL Urgent Care’s Newcastle site by the end of the month.

Personify Care enables online genomics consent pathway in Central Adelaide

The Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health, together with Central Adelaide Local Health Network and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, is piloting a new online process to gather patients’ consent for genetic screening.

Powered by Personify Care, the video-assisted genomics consent pathway was developed with the aim to improve patients’ understanding of genetic testing and allow them to provide consent anytime, anywhere. 

The Personify Care platform is now also being used in the adult genetics unit at Royal Adelaide Hospital and the reproductive genetics unit at Women’s Children’s Hospital to simplify the collection of patients’ personal and family history information for a clinical genetics outpatient assessment and appointment.