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National Collections Sub-committee


A National Collection is a long-term collection of nationwide data or reference data set, which is used for analysis and information provision to achieve improvement in the services and capabilities of the publicly funded health and disability sector.

The members of the National Collections Sub-committee include the following HISAC members:


Chai Chuah (Chair)
Debbie Chin
Paul Cressey
Dr. Tim Gardner
Helmut Modlik
Harry Pert
Andrea Pettett
Chief Advisor, Health Information Strategy & Policy, Ministry of Health (ex officio)

The National Collections Sub-committee also includes the following co-opted members.
Barbara Robson, Board Member, Mid-central DHB
Elisabeth Harding, Managing Director of Elisabeth Harding & Associates Limited

Role of the National Collections Sub-committee

The National Collections Sub-committee’s role, under delegation from HISAC, is set out in paragraph 10 of HISAC’s Terms of Reference (PDF, 108 KB) or (Word, 90 KB) and includes:
  • working with the Ministry of Health and other agencies to agree the purpose, use and establishment of National Collections
  • working with the Ministry of Health to establish and implement standards, best practice guidelines, protocols and evaluation methodologies for National Collections both individually and collectively and to monitor their application
  • working with the Ministry of Health to establish and implement standards for managing the application of the unique identifiers such as HPI and NHI and to review the application of the standards
  • establishing and monitoring accountability arrangements for National Collections
  • reporting on the effectiveness of the stewardship and custodianship of National Collections in supporting the implementation of the Health Information Strategy for New Zealand (HIS-NZ)
  • reviewing existing National Collections for alignment with HIS-NZ
  • reviewing the alignment of any new National Collections with the overall Strategy
  • evaluating current data collections against the criteria for a National Collection
  • specifying data standards for future National Collections including business rules, definitions, quality, and access
  • monitoring collection of data and compliance with good practice guidelines and standards for National Collections
  • identifying and addressing cross National Collection issues
  • promoting and advocating for the effective implementation of National Collections
  • providing HISAC with written reports on progress and on any impediments to progress
  • any other tasks as may be determined by HISAC