Transforming New Zealand’s Fragmented Health System into One Connected Experience

Why do I have to repeat my story every time?

That question stayed with me.

A patient in Auckland described her experience moving between her GP, a specialist, and a hospital. Every appointment began the same way:

  • Repeat her diagnosis

  • Repeat her medication list

  • Repeat her allergies

  • Repeat her story

She felt invisible inside the system.

At the same time, clinicians were overwhelmed — switching between multiple systems, navigating paper files, and spending more time documenting than caring.

When I stepped into this digital transformation initiative within Health New Zealand, I quickly realised:

This wasn’t just a technology problem.
It was a human experience problem.

The Context

New Zealand’s public health system was operating on:

  • 6000+ disconnected digital systems

  • 65% of hospitals still using paper-based notes

  • No unified Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

Information did not flow seamlessly between GPs, specialists, and hospitals.

The result?

Patients experienced fragmented care.
Clinicians experienced operational chaos.

People-First Approach

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Reliability You Can Count On

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A Focus on Quality

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People-First Approach · Reliability You Can Count On · A Focus on Quality ·

Our Process

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    Plan with Purpose

    Together, we outline a path forward that’s realistic, strategic, and tailored to your specific needs.

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    Collaborate Openly

    You’re part of the process. We keep communication open and decisions shared—no black boxes or surprises.

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    Adapt as Needed

    Every project is different. We stay flexible and responsive to make sure the process fits your flow—not the other way around.

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    Deliver with Confidence

    When we deliver, it’s not just a finished product—it’s a solution you can trust, backed by real care and effort.

My Role

As the UX designer leading this transformation initiative, my responsibility was to:

  • Understand the lived experiences of patients and clinicians

  • Map fragmented workflows across primary and secondary care

  • Identify breakdown points in the patient journey

  • Design a scalable, connected digital ecosystem vision

This required system thinking at a national scale.

Instead of starting with systems, I started with stories.

Step 1: Understanding the Human Cost of Fragmentation

Patient Interviews Revealed:

  • Emotional fatigue from repeating medical history

  • Anxiety due to lack of clarity in treatment progression

  • Delays caused by missing or duplicated records

  • Fear that critical information might be lost

One cancer patient described not knowing whether her referral had gone through.
She wasn’t just waiting for treatment.
She was waiting for certainty.

Clinician Interviews Revealed:

  • Logging into multiple platforms daily

  • Manual data entry across systems

  • Limited visibility of full patient history

  • High cognitive load switching between tools

A doctor told me:

“I spend more time documenting care than delivering it.”

This insight shaped the entire direction of the project.

  • From the Patient Perspective:

    Patients experience disconnected and repetitive care journeys due to fragmented digital systems, resulting in delays, uncertainty, and emotional distress.

  • From the Clinical Perspective:

    Clinicians operate within a highly fragmented ecosystem of disconnected tools, increasing administrative burden, reducing efficiency, and limiting time spent with patients.