Student Health Might be Hard to Reach, But They Still Love You

DAN MOSKOVITZ (HE/HIM)

Booking an appointment with Mauri Ora isn't the most user-friendly process. 

Arrange an appointment with Academic Support or Careers, and either Calendly, Outlook, or something similar will provide a simple streamlined booking service. 

Student Health makes you either sign up for a separate app, MyIndici, or phone in. Speaking for myself, neither having to sign up for another app or phoning someone (yuck) is very appealing. 

Why? Why is arguably the most vital service the university provides the least user-friendly? 

The answer, according to Mauri Ora associate director Kevin Rowlatt, is security.

“An online booking system would open us up to vulnerabilities. Having something external where a lot of confidential patient information is stored creates a crack in the system.

“What we’re trying to avoid is someone hacking in and finding out someone’s entire medical history. Everything needs to be as locked down and secure as it can possibly be.” 

As Rowlatt explains, a few years ago the Waikato District Health Board was attacked by ransomware, which is the exact situation Student Health is desperate to avoid.

Enter MyIndici, which is specifically designed to have the level of security the health profession needs. Or the dreaded low-tech alternative—calling over the phone to book.

This, alongside the multitude of different times different doctor’s appointments can take, is why.

Rowlatt is hopeful that in the future AI could enable a user-friendly, secure system which can also cater to the health system's needs for complexity and security. 

But he’s also keen to stress how given said security issues, the health system is always slow to uptake new technology. 

Mauri Ora only stopped using faxes two years ago.