Health Information Strategy Action Committee

The Health Information Strategy Action Committee (HISAC) is a Ministerial Advisory Committee. The Committee was convened in August 2005 to provide governance and oversight of, and leadership for, the implementation of the Health Information Strategy New Zealand (HIS-NZ) . The Committee has a broad strategic scope and its members are representatives of the health and disability sector.

HISAC membership was originally based on the membership of the Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO), established in 2003 to engage with the sector in the development of health information standards for New Zealand. Those members agreed to accept responsibility for the new Terms of Reference for HISAC and to oversee and advise on the implementation of HIS-NZ. HISO remains as a sub-committee of HISAC, and sits alongside the two other HISAC sub-committees (Infrastructure and National Collections) providing expert advice on the implementation of HIS-NZ.

HISAC’s task is to provide governance, oversight and leadership for the Health Information Strategy for New Zealand. This will include:

• ensuring health and disability sector ownership of and responsibility for the Strategy
• representing the views and interests of both public and private sector health and disability sector organisations in relation to the Strategy
• ensuring transparency and coordination of implementation of the Strategy including the 12 Action Zones defined in the Strategy
• working with the Ministry of Health to facilitate and coordinate key Strategy activities
• advising on the planning process to identify key constituencies impacted by the Strategy Action Zones; and advising on business cases for investment to achieve progress in the Action Zones
• delegating in writing to sub-committees and expert working groups specific tasks, and revoking and amending those delegations as required
• ensuring the ongoing development and implementation of health information standards
• ensuring the ongoing development and implementation of guidance to inform the effective use of health information
• ensuring the ongoing development, implementation and governance of secure national electronic health networks
• reviewing and auditing progress against the business plan approved by the Minister for the implementation of the Strategy
• working, with the Ministry of Health and other sector agencies, to remove barriers to the implementation of the Strategy and its Action Zones
• identifying opportunities for review of the Strategy, and reporting these to the Minister and to stakeholders (participating organisations, consumers, the Health and Disability Commissioner and the public)

The role of HISAC is set out in full in its Terms of Reference (Word, 201 KB) (PDF, 423 KB)

Current members of the Health Information Strategy Action Committee are:

Paul Cressey

Paul Cressey is a member of Counties Manukau District Health Board, Chairman of Life Education Trust South East Auckland and a past chairman of Ronald McDonald House Auckland, and The Child Cancer Foundation. He was a practising retail pharmacist for more than 20 years and has held positions as chairman and executive director in cooperative pharmaceutical wholesalers. As Managing Director of East Health Services, and a Trustee of East Health PHO he was actively involved in the implementation of the Primary Care Strategy.

As a member of the WAVE Board and chair of the Health Intranet Governance Body Paul was and continues to be, a strong advocate for health information standards that will maximise the opportunities for the delivery of better health care for the people of New Zealand, and in particular the integration of both primary and secondary care.

Chai Chuah

Chai Chuah is currently CEO of Hutt Valley DHB. Previously, Chai worked for Canterbury Health Ltd in a number of roles including Acting Chief Executive, Chief Operation Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

He has also ten years experience with Coopers & Lybrand consulting in management and accounting. Chai holds a Commerce degree from Canterbury and is a long-standing member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Helmut Modlik

Helmut Modlik is Managing Director of Arrus Knoble Developments, a consultancy firm specialising in the provision of economic and business development services.

Helmut’s health sector experience includes roles at the Ministry of Health as Acting Manager Māori Health Policy; Programme Manager at the Ministry of Health, overseeing PHO payment systems development; and Change Manager for the Health Funding Authority, directing the implementation of Pharmacy electronic claiming. He has also been a consultant advisor for a number of District Health Boards and community health providers, and is currently on the board of PHARMAC, Capital and Coast DHB, and the Greater Wellington Health Trust.

Helmut’s iwi affiliations include Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Tama and Te Ati Awa. He has comprehensive experience working with iwi and Māori organisations throughout the country on a wide variety of social and economic development projects.

Dr Tim Gardner

Dr Tim Gardner is a solo GP at the Outram Medical Centre, a fully computerised practice near Dunedin that is affiliated to Southlink Health Inc and the Taieri and Strath Taieri PHO.

In his 18 years at Outram, Tim has taught students and Registrars through the Department of General Practice at Otago University and the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP). Tim’s interests include general practice research, health informatics and rowing.

Tim was a member of the RNZCGP Information Committee in 1994/95 and has been a member of the Wonca Classification Committee since 1995. He has enjoyed the role of RNZCGP representative to HISO and the HPI Steering Group for the last two years and continues these responsibilities as a member of HISAC.

Graeme Osborne

Graeme is the General Manager of Information Management at ACC. Graeme joined ACC from Statistics NZ, where he was a group manager, Information and Business Services. He managed the operations of New Zealand's statistical information and the investment in business change and related ICT solutions as well as being involved in the development of strategy for a national statistical office. He also played a key role in the e-government strategy across both central and local government and holds the positions of Vice-Chair of the e-Gif Management committee.

In a voluntary capacity Graeme has been the Chair of the Telecommunication Users Association of NZ (TUANZ) 2003-2006, and a TUANZ board member for over 10 years.

He has two ministerial appointments:
The Digital Strategy Advisory Group and Health Information Strategy Action Committee.
Graeme has a passion for the implementation of value added business models in all types of public and private organisation, which require a focus on people first, and then the right balance of process and technology.

Tony Cooke

Tony Cooke is currently the Chief Information Officer at Hutt Valley District Health Board, which has 2000 staff and serves a population of 139,000 in the Wellington Region. He has 25 years experience in IT, including 14 years in health. He previously held roles as a programmer/analyst, infrastructure manager and senior project manager.

In addition to his membership of HISAC, Tony also has roles as a member of National DHB CIOs, the DHB CEO Information Group, and more recently as chair of the HISO Expert Advisory Committee for Authentication and Security Framework standards development.

Andrea Pettett

Andrea Pettett is currently the Chief Executive of the NZ Health IT Cluster, a position she has held since January 2005. Her involvement with the health care industry includes six years as Executive Director of the Health Funds Association of NZ representing the NZ Health Insurance Industry, and four years as Chief Executive of the New Zealand General Practitioners’ Association.

In between these two roles she worked as a consultant for the Accident Competition Implementation Office involved in the reform of ACC. Prior to joining the health sector, Andrea worked as a Patent Attorney specialising in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents. Andrea is the Chairperson of the Board of Wellington Free Ambulance, a Director of Central Emergency Communications Ltd, a Trustee of Life Flight Trust, an Executive member of HINZ, and a member of the HPI Steering group. Her qualifications include an Honours degree in biochemistry, a law degree, and she is a Registered Patent Attorney.

Dr Harry Pert

Dr Harry Pert is a GP at the Ranolf Medical Centre in Rotorua. Harry trained in London and moved to New Zealand in 1978, after working in the UK, Papua New Guinea and Australia. He has particular interests in children's health, and in the organisation and management of health services.

Brendan Kelly

Brendan Kelly is the Chief Advisor of Health Information Strategy and Policy (HISP) within the New Zealand Health Information Service and as such is an ex officio member of HISAC. HISP’s role is to assist the Ministry of Health and the health sector to implement national information policies and strategies.

Brendan’s previous role was as Programme Architect for the e-government Unit at the State Services Commission. His responsibilities included programme direction and management, risk management and risk control systems, financial management and internal alignment and management of e-government Unit projects. He also served as project manager for the education sector ICT review, where he identified opportunities and mechanisms for driving increased collaboration between education sector agencies.

Brendan has a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economic History.