NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Home / Brand Insight
Brand Insight
nib

Is this a hospital endgame?

11 Jun, 2018 12:00 PM5 minutes to read
Picture // Supplied

Picture // Supplied

Advertorial by nib

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Technology set to change the way we access and experience healthcare in the future.

An end to the era of big "monolithic" hospitals may be one consequence of looming digital-led healthcare changes, a leading health insurance executive has suggested.

Justin Vaughan, Group Executive, Benefits and Provider Relations for health insurer nib, says while hospitals will remain important their role is likely to change - one overseas expert even says hospital visits in the future will be like "NASCAR pit stops" - as digital innovation transforms healthcare.

"I don't think I would want to be in the business of building large hospitals right now," he says. "Technology will allow people to take more control over their own health and the old-fashioned healthcare model is changing, one that will see more community-based outpatient facilities rather than big monolithic hospitals."

His comments come as nib is introducing new digital initiatives aimed at improving its customer service and establishing the company as a "health partner, not just a payer of claims". Among them is Whitecoat, an online platform to be launched in New Zealand later this year which enables people to make more informed choices when selecting a provider across a wide range of health services.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although Vaughan says there will always be a need for hospitals, healthcare change is inevitable. "It may not be in New Zealand yet, but change is happening in other countries and it is heading this way; we will see a greater focus on preventative health and the development of personalised treatments."

He says technology like "wearables" (smart devices that can, among other things, check blood pressure, count calories and remind patients of their appointments) is one example of how healthcare change is occurring.

Use of these devices will lead to more effective analysis of a person's health so that individual treatment and/or prevention plans can be designed with more precision than in the past – in turn creating the potential for reductions in hospital stays.

Vaughan's thoughts are in line with international thinking. In the US, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, the vice provost (equivalent to a vice chancellor) at the University of Pennsylvania said earlier this year he believes hospitals will shrink in number and importance as more complex care is safely and effectively provided elsewhere.

"Those that remain will be devoted to emergency rooms, high-tech services or patients requiring brain surgery, organ transplants and the like."

In 2016 Dr Melanie Walker, a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council looking at the future of neurotechnologies and brain science, said she thought the need for hospitalisation would eventually disappear altogether.

"Hospitals of the future will become more like NASCAR pit stops than inescapable black holes as humans live longer and healthier lives," she said. "You will go to hospital to be patched up and put back on track."

Vaughan says healthcare technology is "a journey we're on, one we have to invest in the future to get there. But at the same time we've still got to manage those who are sick now, so it's a fine balancing act."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He says the insurance industry needs to change too: "Traditionally we've been the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and I doubt there are many people at the moment who would see their insurance company as the first port of call for advice on health services.

"But we need to become more trusted in this way; we need to help our customers focus on prevention, to be seen as a partner in their health," he says. "We are doing ourselves a disservice if we don't help people address issues like understanding the health effects of smoking, alcohol consumption, not taking part in activity or eating too much.

"We need to be focusing on keeping our customers healthy rather than just assisting them when they are sick."

He says Whitecoat is an example. In Australia, where it was introduced five years ago, it has information on 220,000 healthcare providers and attracts 300,000 unique visitors every month.

Vaughan says ultimately Whitecoat is intended not just as an information hub but a platform through which people can book and pay for appointments.

The company has also launched Frankie, a chatbot using artificial intelligence to help nib customers get answers to questions ranging from product information to how to make an insurance claim.

It is able to answer up to 90 questions with more than 800 answer variants. Since launching earlier this year Frankie has had over 1600 conversations, a third of which are held outside normal customer service team operating hours.

In other initiatives nib is partnering with Auckland iwi Ngati Whatua Orakei who are providing free private health insurance for all its registered members. In addition, the health insurer is offering private insurance cover for treatments like Chinese traditional medicine and acupuncture.

This range of new products is aimed at migrant groups – particularly Chinese and Indians – in an effort to "meet the changing face of New Zealand."

Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Discover More

Protect tomorrow, today
Sponsored Stories

Protect tomorrow, today

29 May 01:53 AM
At pains to deal with pain
Sponsored Stories

At pains to deal with pain

26 Apr 09:20 PM
1 in 3 Kiwis in health danger
Brand Insight

1 in 3 Kiwis in health danger

14 Aug 12:00 PM
Many prefer home to hospital
Brand Insight

Many prefer home to hospital

29 Jul 12:00 PM
How to have cheaper surgery
Brand Insight

How to have cheaper surgery

25 Jun 12:00 PM
Is this a hospital endgame?
Brand Insight

Is this a hospital endgame?

11 Jun 12:00 PM
nib

Read more from nib here
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP