New Zealand's Waikato District Health Board (DHB) has partnered with US-based 'virtual practice' technology provider HealthTap to launch what it is calling the Virtual DHB, offering patients the ability to talk to or text their hospital specialist rather than travel to an outpatients clinic.

Waikato DHB signed an agreement with HealthTap in October last year to implement the Palo Alto firm's technology into the public hospital setting. The DHB is gradually signing up clinicians from services across its five hospital sites – starting with dermatology and now looking at renal and cardiology – and is also keen to involve general practitioners and community-based healthcare providers on how to offer the service to improve access, equity and health outcomes to the Waikato population.