Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
There will not be a risk of health data being misused as a result of a new AI navigation tool, says the mental health minister.
Telehealth provider Whakarongorau Aotearoa will develop the tool, which people would be able to access after they put in information about the issues they were facing.
It would help navigate users to health support in their area, and in some cases allow them to book directly.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told Checkpoint the project will be approved by Health New Zealand's AI governance group to insure there was no misuse of information.
"Most messages are signed off and it's important that you get access to those services, so there won't be any risk of that going open source with AI."
Doocey said the tool would be very effective.
"Quite often when I talk to people they're not aware of the available services at either at their GP or Health New Zealand provided community services.
"So I think it is going to be a real game changer in providing faster and real time access to that support."
He said people should only put information they feel comfortable putting into the page.
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