Why Health NZ dumped its AI tool Tuhi for Heidi

Sonny Taite, Health NZ's director of digital innovation and AI, said budget cuts weren't the main driver for dumping its $150k AI tool Tuhi for Heidi. (Image: Bethany Howarth Photography, HiNZ, 2025.)

Cécile Meier

Mon, 15 Dec 2025

Health New Zealand has abandoned its homegrown AI clinical scribe, opting for commercial products that clinicians had already been using behind the scenes. While the shift has allowed the agency to move faster and get immediate productivity gains, it also raises questions about data sovereignty and long-term costs. Health NZ (HNZ) spent $150,000 in 2024 developing Tuhi, te reo Māori for “write”, to transcribe and summarise patient consultations.By February 2025, it had 52 users who had created more than 400 consultation no...

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