The Future of Telehealth in New Zealand: Expanding Access to Holistic Care

Remember when a doctor’s appointment meant taking half a day off work, driving across town, and thumbing through dog-eared magazines in a waiting room? For many New Zealanders, particularly those in rural communities, accessing healthcare has traditionally involved significant time, travel, and disruption. But the landscape is rapidly changing, thanks to the accelerated adoption of telehealth services across the country.

While telehealth was making inroads before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted these digital health services from convenient options to essential services almost overnight. Now, as we move forward, telehealth is evolving beyond simple GP consultations to encompass a wide spectrum of holistic care options, fundamentally changing how Kiwis access and experience healthcare.

The Digital Health Revolution

For a country with our unique geography—urban centres separated by winding roads, mountain ranges, and rural expanses—telehealth represents more than convenience. It’s a potential solution to longstanding access inequities. When the nearest specialist might be a five-hour drive away, virtual consultations become transformative rather than merely helpful.

The numbers tell a compelling story. According to the Ministry of Health, telehealth consultations increased by over 300% during the first lockdown period and have maintained significantly higher rates than pre-pandemic levels. What’s particularly interesting is how this digital shift is now extending beyond conventional medicine into complementary and holistic care approaches.

Beyond the Virtual GP Visit

The first wave of telehealth in New Zealand primarily focused on replicating traditional GP consultations in a virtual environment. While valuable, this approach barely scratched the surface of telehealth’s potential. Today, we’re seeing the emergence of truly integrated telehealth platforms that bring together diverse healthcare modalities.

Take Hauora Health, a Wellington-based digital health platform that launched last year. Rather than simply connecting patients with doctors, their service offers access to a multidisciplinary team including GPs, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, naturopaths, and even rongoā Māori practitioners. Patients can opt for individual consultations or, more innovatively, collaborative care sessions where multiple practitioners participate in developing comprehensive care plans.

“We’re moving away from the siloed approach to healthcare,” explains Dr. Aroha Bennett, Hauora Health’s clinical director. “Our platform allows a patient suffering from a complex condition like fibromyalgia to connect with their GP, a pain specialist, a nutritionist, and a mindfulness coach in a coordinated way. The technology enables a level of integration that’s actually quite difficult to achieve in traditional healthcare settings.”

Telehealth and Mental Wellbeing

Perhaps one of the most significant developments has been in the mental health space, where telehealth is facilitating access to both conventional psychological services and complementary approaches like mindfulness training, guided meditation, and even group therapy.

The Mindful Aotearoa initiative has been particularly successful in this regard, offering telehealth-delivered mindfulness-based cognitive therapy that combines evidence-based psychological techniques with mindfulness practices derived from contemplative traditions. Their eight-week programme, delivered entirely online, has shown promising results for depression and anxiety management, particularly for participants in regions with limited mental health resources.

For Sam Taylor, a farmer from South Canterbury, these services have been life-changing: “Living where I do, accessing mental health support used to mean a 90-minute drive each way. Now I can join my therapy group from my living room after finishing on the farm. It’s made consistent support possible for the first time.”

Monitoring and Management from Afar

Another exciting frontier in telehealth involves remote monitoring technologies that support holistic care approaches. Wearable devices, smartphone apps, and home monitoring equipment now allow healthcare providers to track various health parameters remotely, from vital signs to sleep patterns and activity levels.

Canterbury DHB’s pilot programme for chronic condition management exemplifies this approach. Patients with conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure receive monitoring equipment for home use, with data transmitted to a care team that includes both medical specialists and complementary care providers.

Nutritionists can review dietary patterns, exercise physiologists can monitor activity levels, and meditation coaches can assess stress indicators—all working in concert with medical providers managing medication and treatment plans.

The results have been impressive, with a 30% reduction in hospital admissions among programme participants and significantly improved quality of life scores. The programme is now being considered for nationwide implementation.

Challenges and the Path Forward

While the potential is enormous, telehealth’s expansion into holistic care isn’t without challenges. Connectivity remains an issue in some parts of rural New Zealand, though the ongoing rural broadband initiative is gradually addressing this barrier. Additionally, some older New Zealanders face digital literacy challenges that may limit their ability to fully engage with telehealth services.

Perhaps more fundamentally, there are legitimate questions about when virtual care is appropriate and when in-person consultations remain necessary. Physical therapies like massage, hands-on chiropractic adjustments, and certain aspects of traditional healing simply cannot be delivered virtually.

However, innovative hybrid models are emerging to address these limitations. The Te Whare Ora network, for example, combines telehealth consultations with mobile practitioners who can deliver hands-on therapies in patients’ homes when necessary, guided by virtual assessments and treatment plans.

Regulatory Frameworks Catching Up

Another significant challenge involves regulatory frameworks and funding mechanisms. While Medsafe and the Medical Council have adapted regulations to accommodate telehealth’s growth, complementary therapies delivered via telehealth sometimes fall into regulatory grey areas.

Progress is being made, however. The Natural Health Practitioners Bill currently before Parliament includes provisions specifically addressing telehealth delivery of natural health services, potentially providing clearer guidelines for practitioners and greater protections for consumers.

Similarly, ACC has begun piloting coverage for certain telehealth-delivered complementary therapies for injury recovery, including guided rehabilitation exercises and pain management techniques drawn from both conventional and complementary approaches.

The future of telehealth in New Zealand looks increasingly holistic and integrated. Rather than simply digitising conventional healthcare, we’re witnessing the emergence of new care models that leverage technology to bring diverse healing traditions and therapeutic approaches together in service of patient wellbeing.