HiNZ 2025: Will Reedy - NZ Health & Life Sciences Lead, Accenture

Why It Matters

It proves that agile, locally‑driven technology can quickly resolve critical staffing challenges and set a scalable blueprint for national health‑service digital transformation.

Key Takeaways

• Two‑week app replaces chaotic Excel rostering
• Solution improves staff equity and scheduling efficiency
• Award‑winning approach ready for national scaling
• Accenture leveraged local expertise for rapid delivery
• Digital Health Week highlighted NZ health innovation

Pulse Analysis

New Zealand’s health sector has long wrestled with fragmented scheduling tools, often relying on manual Excel sheets that hinder efficiency and fairness. The rapid development of a smart rostering app in Waikato illustrates how a focused, cross‑functional team can harness cloud‑based platforms and low‑code development to deliver a production‑ready solution in just fourteen days. By integrating real‑time shift data, staff preferences, and compliance rules, the app not only mitigated the immediate impact of industrial action but also set a new standard for equitable workforce management.

Accenture’s involvement underscores the growing role of global consulting firms in local health innovation. Leveraging its extensive portfolio of digital health expertise, Accenture helped the Waikato team accelerate prototype testing, ensure data security, and align the solution with national health IT standards. The award‑winning project demonstrates how private‑public partnerships can fast‑track digital transformation, delivering measurable outcomes—reduced scheduling errors, higher staff satisfaction, and improved patient flow—while maintaining compliance with New Zealand’s health governance frameworks.

The broader implication for the country’s health system is significant. If the app scales nationally, it could unify disparate hospital scheduling processes, generate consistent analytics, and support future AI‑driven workforce optimization. Stakeholders—from regional health boards to policymakers—are watching the rollout as a potential template for other urgent health challenges, such as pandemic response and resource allocation. This case reinforces the strategic importance of agile development, data‑driven decision‑making, and collaborative ecosystems in shaping the next generation of digital health services in New Zealand.

Original Description

“What can you do in Waikato that could work for the whole country?” 🏥

During Digital Health Week 2025, Will Reedy from Accenture joins Rebecca McBeth, Gavin Reddish, and Rachel Clarke to share how a local team responded rapidly to recent industrial action by building a smart app for hospital staff planning—delivering national impact and innovation.

What does it take to transform chaotic Excel sheets into a hospital-wide digital solution in just two weeks? How can technology help make rostering more equitable and efficient for clinical staff? And what’s next for this award-winning approach, and its potential to scale across New Zealand health services?

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.

#healthtech #digitalhealth #innovation #NewZealandHealthcare