Published on the 22/11/2013 | Written by Newsdesk
The Simpl Group has this week announced a new brand, Simplhealth, that will focus entirely on the development of healthcare information technology solutions…
Health IT has formed a large part of the Simpl business for many years and the company is behind such national programmes as the disability management system Socrates and the Before 4 School Check programme to support child health. It was also involved in the implementation of the eRx Script Exchange national ePrescription service in Australia.
Health IT currently makes up just over 80 percent of Simpl’s business and it says the decision to launch the new Simplhealth brand is its response to the growing demand for health sector information. It’s a demand that is being driven by the need for governments to find cost efficiencies as life expectancy and healthcare costs increase. (By 2031 the number of people over 85 years in New Zealand will double and healthcare costs are currently growing by two to three percent per annum.)
CEO of Simplhealth, Jodi Mitchell explains, “An ageing population and more expensive healthcare is a huge issue for many countries, with respect to a sustainable public health system. People are also becoming more demanding as more innovative healthcare options become available.
“It has become very clear that maintaining affordable and effective healthcare for those who also fund the system through taxes is becoming an urgent issue for governments to address. It is here where information technology solutions can play an important role by achieving realistic cost savings through automation, while also enhancing standards and efficiencies.”
Simplhealth’s specific area of expertise is in the development of information technology platforms that help healthcare professionals collaborate, communicate and work better together – an important aspect of healthcare IT since it takes an entire industry and many different healthcare professionals to manage one person’s health throughout their lifetime.
Mitchell says, “Simpl has always been very strong in health IT and these strengths have evolved into our strongest business sector in recent years. This new direction is a natural step for us and will focus our team on providing heightened value for healthcare clients and better health for patients.”
As a new brand within Simpl Group the executive team remains the same and the Simpl Group will continue to work with non-healthcare related clients under its original brand. It currently has no plans to launch other discrete brands for specific sectors, but that may change.
