Hello Members,
The Board recently got an update from Jae that the modernisation of our systems that support HIMAA in delivering services to members is progressing well. You can read about the details in Jae’s report. During my first speech as President at the end of the 2018 National Conference, I outlined that my focus would be on modernisation and membership. We started a couple of years ago with the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 and the use of Teams. It’s taken some time to finally see the “rubber meeting the road” with a number of other internal systems. To be fair, we have been challenged by an extended CEO transition and then of course the pandemic in the last two years shifted our focus.
Over the years, the National Office has continued to build-on old existing manual processes and fallen behind in adopting new technology and applications to support our growth. This may sound familiar to most of us who are working in healthcare and undergoing digital transformation in our workplaces. Similarly, HIMAA is also embarking on our own digital transformation journey. Those that have worked in new system implementations know that it’s not just a matter of installing the software and hoping that users will adapt to the new solution. They are essentially change management projects requiring staff to buy into the new process. I want to acknowledge and thank the HIMAA staff in embracing the new “tools of the trade” on top of their existing duties.
We cannot afford to stand still as the environment that we operate in continues to evolve. Unfortunately, this has been illustrated to us in the last week where we have experienced a cybersecurity incident that Jae has detailed in her report. Cybersecurity has become a significant issue for organisations to address due to our reliance on computers. The challenge is complex. The Board and Jae will work to ensure that HIMAA has the right level of mitigation that’s appropriate for an organisation of our size.
Finally, earlier this month I was in Adelaide for a conference and felt the energy of the city and its people returning to levels prior to the pandemic. I’m very much looking forward to our National Conference in October and hoping that many members can attend. I suspect this year’s conference is going be one for the ages.
Onwards and upwards!
Cheens Lee
President
Email: cheensl@himaa.org.au