HiNZ 2025: Hon. Tracey Martin - Chief Executive, Aged Care Association NZ

Why It Matters

Technology that streamlines operations can ease staffing shortages and improve care quality, keeping aged‑care services competitive in a rapidly digitising health ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• Frontline staff input essential for viable digital solutions
• Dementia care requires nuanced, not generic, technology
• Tech should free staff for human interaction
• Aged care risk falling behind primary care adoption
• Missing caregiver feedback delays effective implementation

Pulse Analysis

The residential aged‑care sector faces a perfect storm of rising demand, workforce shortages, and increasingly complex resident needs, especially for those with dementia. While health systems worldwide are accelerating digital transformation, aged‑care facilities often lag behind, constrained by legacy processes and limited budgets. This gap creates a paradox: technology promises efficiency, yet many solutions add layers of paperwork, pulling caregivers further from direct resident interaction. Understanding these dynamics is essential for investors and policymakers seeking to modernise the sector.

Co‑design emerges as the most viable pathway to meaningful tech adoption. When frontline caregivers—nurses, personal support workers, and allied staff—participate in solution design, tools become intuitive, address real workflow bottlenecks, and respect the nuanced care required for cognitive impairments. For dementia patients, technology must support personalized monitoring, safe navigation, and communication aids without imposing rigid protocols. Engaging these voices early reduces resistance, shortens implementation timelines, and ensures that digital interventions complement, rather than replace, the human touch that defines quality aged‑care.

The broader industry implication is clear: providers that integrate caregiver‑led innovation will gain a competitive edge, attract talent, and deliver higher resident satisfaction scores. Conversely, organisations that ignore frontline feedback risk costly rollouts, staff disengagement, and regulatory scrutiny. Stakeholders should prioritize pilot programs that embed staff training, iterative feedback loops, and measurable outcomes tied to staff time saved and resident wellbeing. By aligning technology with the core mission of compassionate care, aged‑care can evolve from a lagging sector to a benchmark for patient‑centred digital health.

Original Description

“How do we make sure technology gives us back time, not takes it away?” 🤔

Hon. Tracey Martin, Chief Executive of the Aged Care Association NZ, speaks with Peter Birch at Digital Health Week in Christchurch, hosted by Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ), about the urgent challenges and opportunities for technology in residential aged care.

The discussion reveals the pressure facing aged residential care, how digital solutions must be shaped by frontline voices, and why we need to think beyond simple fixes for complex needs like dementia care. Is the sector being left behind compared to primary care? Can the right tech help free up staff for meaningful human interaction, rather than taking their time? And what could happen if we keep missing input from those doing the caring?

Catch this conversation and many others recorded during Digital Health Week in Christchurch, hosted by Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ) in a special playlist available here on YouTube under our channel. as well as the Talking HealthTech Podcast on your favourite platform.

#agedcare #digitalhealth #healthtech #residentialcare