Three national services will end, with only 8% of primary care delivered virtually in November last year. And digital health is being defunded as well.
The New Zealand government has withdrawn funding for several telehealth services amid declining demand for virtual care following the covid pandemic.
The government also announced more than $200 million (NZ $330 million) earmarked for digital health initiatives would instead be returned as savings in the 2024-25 national budget in order to “prepare investment-ready business cases for future investment,” according to the Budget Summary.
Martin Hefford, director of the Living Well commissioning team at Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), confirmed Wakarongorau Aoteaora (New Zealand Telehealth Services) would be losing funding for three of its services: the 24/7 Healthline service offering free advice from health professionals, the national covid helpline and a non-public-facing clinical line providing support for health professionals.
Two other services, the vaccination helpline and the covid disability helpline, will be maintained until 20 December 2024, with the vaccination service to be rebranded to offer non-clinical advice and support for all government-funded vaccinations rather than covid, flu and whooping cough exclusively.
According to Mr Hefford, the funding cut reflected waning demand for targeted covid services, including telehealth services
“This is because as New Zealand has moved beyond the covid pandemic response, demand for specific covid-related services – including some telehealth services – has reduced over time,” he told HiNZ eHealth News.
A recent report published by Te Tāhū Hauora (Health Quality & Safety Commission) evaluating transformations to New Zealand’s health system post-pandemic revealed telehealth uptake had not skyrocketed as expected during the pandemic, never exceeding 20% of all primary care appointments and hitting a peak of 25% of all outpatient appointments in early 2020.
The report also showed telehealth use had since plummeted with only 8% of primary care appointments carried out virtually in November last year, with several barriers hindering wider uptake including a lack of confidence and capability with technology and inadequate resourcing and infrastructure to sustain telehealth services.
“Since the easing of these restrictions, many observers have noted a ‘receding tide’ of telehealth, as care has returned to business as usual (predominantly in-person),” the authors wrote.
“Data from Aotearoa New Zealand conforms to this pattern, perhaps with an even stronger return to pre-pandemic business as usual.
“The implication of this trend is that health systems may be missing an opportunity to improve efficiency and access through thoughtful support of telehealth options.
“For telehealth to be viable, services must consider quality and safety, clinician capability, service readiness and, most importantly, client engagement.”