healthAlliance (hA) is the regional business services agency that provides shared services like finance, procurement, information services, and human resources to four District Health Boards (DHBs) in the northern region of New Zealand. It was established in 2000 and now has over 500 employees serving a population of over 36% of New Zealanders. hA aims to deliver outstanding shared services in order to enable healthcare excellence for the northern region through lower costs, standardized processes, and quality services.

1. healthAlliance
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

2. A proud history... a bright future
Counties Manukau DHB and Waitemata DHB established
healthAlliance (hA) in July 2000 to support the effective
delivery of key business services for these two DHBs. In
March 2011 the scope and ownership of hA was changed
to incorporate all four Northern DHBs as owners, together
with Health Benefits Ltd.
healthAlliance is now the regional business services agency
for the four DHBs.
The key service activities are:
•Finance (transactional processing)
•Procurement and Supply Chain
•Information Services
•Regional Internal Audit Services
•Staff Service Centre – payroll processing and HRIM
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

3. hA at a glance
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

4. Our Region
Some facts about healthAlliance:
• 500+ employees in 8 locations
• Serving a population base of 36.1% of New
Zealanders
• Our services support 26,500 DHB staff, 15,000
computers, 10 hospital sites, 94 community sites
and 266 dental sites
• 81,500 assets worth over $1.1B (NBV $60
million)
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

5. What we do:
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

6. hA exists to provide:
• Efficient & effective delivery of transactional activities
• Lower costs
• Improved quality & sustainability of service
• Elimination of inefficiencies
• Integrated & seamless processes
• Centres of excellence, expertise & staff development
• Regional alignment & standardisation of activities
within customer DHBs
Resulting in the release of funding for front-line services
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

7. Our Purpose: Our Principles to live by:
healthAlliance provides shared services to benefit NZ health
organisations. We will deliver increasing value to our
customers through:
Lower cost
Standardised system and processes
Reducing variation or rework
Quality and innovation
Our Vision:
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.
Developing lasting Developing trust by being Leading by example Delivering exceptional
partnerships through open and honest results through high Encourage forward thinking
Open, fair, honest and
collaboration performing teams ideas and challenge status
Listening to and transparent in everything
quo
Working to a common goal understanding others views we do Enhance the complete
customer experience Measure our performance
Facilitating joint solutions Valuing everyone’s Courage to speak up and
and see it as an opportunity
within our means contribution challenge when things don’t Continually improve and add
to learn and grow
seem right value
Recognising and celebrating Celebrating diversity
Creating positive change by
success Act ethically and Being action orientated,
Have fun and enjoy what we developing smarter ways to
professionally at all times responsible and accountable
Open communication to do as a team work
share knowledge and Can do, will deliver on our Providing consistent and
Empowering people to
information promises, obligations and reliable services
maximise potential
commitments
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

8. Delivering Savings
Since inception healthAlliance has reduced
the transactional services costs for its
shareholders by almost 2% of their provider
arm revenues - representing expenditure
avoidance of approx $20 million per year.
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.

9. Definition of Shared Service
Common management practices that can be concentrated in a business oriented unit
focussed entirely on delivering the highest quality services at the lowest cost to internal
customers. There is accountability in the organisation that is more effective that having
multiple points of responsibility and varied management practices.
In a Shared Services company a unique service provider / recipient relationship is
established. Customers can specify what services and how much they need and can expect
those to be met. Providers can expect to have their performance evaluated objectively as a
result of having measurable criteria in place.
Shared services should be staffed with some of the best and brightest people for those
services that are characterised as expertise of knowledge based as they must expect to
become suppliers of choice. Shared service providers will become as good as the best
professional services firms that the organisation may have worked with in the past.
As a result the Shared Services company must be able to perform at levels equal to or better
than other service providers.
To deliver outstanding shared services that enable healthcare
excellence for the Northern Region’s population.