Engagement & Advisory Services
Collaborating with primary care digital and data leaders
We host forums and workshops for IT and data experts from Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) to network, collaborate, and keep informed across health IT initiatives.
Primary Care Sector Engagement
Our role is to ensure that the Ministry of Health receives a primary care view on national health IT projects and the sector is kept well informed.
Our responsibilities are to:
- Hold or attend briefings with objectives to enhance services to patients and advance primary care
- Support, plan and coordinate Ministry of Health requirements for the ongoing development of primary care centred systems or process development
- Provide an IT view of primary care to inform Ministry of Health work programmes
- Attend sector groups as a primary care representative.


PHO CIO Forum
The Primary Health Organisation Chief Information Officer (PHO CIO) forum is a group of PHO representatives who are in a CIO or IT Manager position.
The forum meets regularly to build professional networks, share ideas and ensure that PHOs have an opportunity to align across the country and understand their interactions.
The purpose of the PHO CIO forum is to:
- Discuss up-and-coming national, regional and local information related projects
- Have oversight of the future strategy of primary care information in New Zealand
- Develop professional networks between PHO staff that operate in a CIO or IT Manager capacity.
PHO Cybersecurity Committee
This cybersecurity interest group is a sub-committee of the PHO CIO Forum, and includes representatives from PHOs, Patients First and the Ministry of Health.
Due to the rise in cybersecurity threats worldwide and heightened concerns around data security, Patients First and the Ministry of Health want to work with PHOs to improve the data security and readiness levels of primary care.
The purpose of the PHO Cybersecurity Committee is to:
- Raise awareness and understanding of cybersecurity risks in primary care
- Consider, investigate, identify and provide solutions to barriers in implementing the Health Information Security Framework (HISF) standard
- Assist primary care in their journey to comply with the HISF standard and continuously improve their data security capability and performance.


Primary Care Analysts Network (PCAN)
PCAN is open to data analysts working in Primary Health Organisations and aims to build collaboration among the group.
The purpose of the PCAN is to:
- provide an avenue for information analysts to come together and share their work
- provide a networking opportunity
- provide relevant training workshops.