PHOs working together for AI-Enabled Health Platform
In what is a first, eight Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) spanning Aotearoa New Zealand have launched a joint procurement process to identify a shared, AI-capable technology platform for primary health operations.
The participating PHOs include WellSouth Primary Health Network, Tū Ora Compass Health, THINK Hauora, Health Hawke's Bay, ProCare Health Ltd, Pinnacle Midlands Health Network, RAPHS Primary Health Support, and Nelson Bays Primary Health.
Project Co-lead Damon Campbell, Chief Operating Officer at WellSouth says it is one of the most significant transformation exercises the primary health sector has undertaken.
“We are not procuring a single tool to fix a single problem. We are looking for a platform that can transform how eight PHOs operate across four critical domains, with AI and automation at the centre of that transformation,” he says.
“The fact that eight organisations have chosen to do this together, rather than separately, is itself a statement about where primary health is heading.”
The procurement covers four interconnected functional areas that form the operational backbone of PHO activity: Claims and Payments, Provider Portal, Case Management, and Referrals.
AI capabilities being explored include intelligent triage of workloads, automated drafting of routine documentation, predictive identification of patients at risk of disengagement, and real-time decision support for health coordinators.
Cambell and his colleagues at the partner PHOs agree automation drives workforce support rather than replacement.
Matthew Lord, Chief Information Officer, Tū Ora Compass Health:
“This procurement is about reclaiming capacity — not by reducing our workforce, but by giving them better tools so they can focus on the work that actually makes a difference to people’s health. Doing this collectively means we are much more likely to find a solution that genuinely meets that need.”
Janice McDougall, General Manager – Strategy and Enablement, THINK Hauora:
“We were clear from the outset that Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles are not an afterthought — they are a requirement, and the collective approach gives us the weight to make that expectation stick.”
Peter Goodwin, Strategic Projects Team Lead, RAPHS Primary Health Support:
“For a smaller PHO like RAPHS, the ability to participate in a procurement of this scale alongside our larger colleagues is a genuine opportunity. We carry the same operational complexity as the larger organisations, but with a smaller team to manage it.”
Mr Campbell says the procurement is also expected to generate valuable intelligence about the availability and maturity of integrated health operations platforms in New Zealand and internationally.
View more news