Why Health Tech Matters to Me

The Governor

Governor Jim Kama formed the foundation of my family unit of five kids, me being the eldest between him and my mum. A man of great stature and work ethic, dad raised us to understand that hard work and dedication were the key to living a decent life. He had built a decorated career in NSW Correctional Services as a governor of many of the states’ prisons - and along the way, he gained the respect of not only his own staff, but many on the other side of those bars.

Rascal

Growing up in small-town New South Wales, most of the kids my age were white with the exception of me, an Asian-Indian kid, some Lebanese boys and my many Aboriginal friends that joined me in running around the streets as a naughty little rascal! Unlike most of my crew, I had a massive, 6-foot wide Tongan overlord imposing his massive base-ball mitt hands and irrepressible will power as he bent my character towards doing good. Sadly, most of my mates went a different way in life.

Early days

Governor Kama was keen on me becoming a lawyer as I had performed quite well in secondary school and showed potential to be an effective advocate for my mates - so I suppose he thought I could defend them in court one day! And whilst I got away with fitting in an early bachelor in econometrics and data, I found my way into a graduate law degree which became a masters, a grad diploma and then admission to the ACT Supreme Court. However, I was intent on treading my own path and avoiding the court rooms, I worked in the Australian Public Sector to understand how public goodwill manifested in positive outcomes for citizens. These early insights captured my imagination by understanding how powerful Federal public servants could be because they were impacting the lives of the whole country.

Transformation

Fast forward 10 years into my career and I had the privilege of being a part of and sometimes even leading some major digital transformations, particularly in the health ecosystems and government in general; largely to deliver wide-reaching impact across the population. My career had also transformed from starting out as a public servant and eventually becoming a Digital Transformation delivery leader owning budget outcomes and leading large-scale teams.

Moreover, I had found the love of my life and we were etching out our own fairytale in the nation's capital. We had a blissful 6 years before welcoming to the world a beautiful and healthy boy. A boy made in my own image - and someone that I could pass on the same lessons that my father gave to me (whilst my son made the same mistakes that I made!).

Blindsided

But just when I thought that things were on the up-and-up, two unexpected things happened:

1. My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. Never smoked a day in his life but all that time inhaling the burning currency of concrete jungles probably mixed in with the ongoing stress of having to find ways to keep the 'crims' on the safe side of those bars.
2. My beloved son was diagnosed with cancer. A cancer of the muscle tissue that manifested in his right eye.

My life was turned upside down. Everything that I thought was important wasn’t important any more. All that mattered was that my father and my son had to find a way to live.

Every day was a constant battle to keep things going with our small and growing family but to also give everything needed by both dad and son often at the same time.

Looking back, the only thing that made sense to me as to how we made it through was:

(a) my wife was Superwoman, and

(b) Australia’s health system is the very best in the world.

I didn't really know

Looking back on the previous 10 years of my life and career gave me the false impression that I knew what the health sector was about. But for the first time in my life, I had begun to understand what it really was - it's the amazing nurses who knew how to draw blood when surely there was no more left. It's the genius oncologists who appeared more often to be magicians on top of being master clinicians. It's the supporting charities and augmented educational options that made sure my son didn't fall too far behind in his education and that we had enough petrol and food to eat. And it's the administrators who knew when my fathers' time was up and all we could do was to make him comfortable.

I’ll never forget the day when dad said to me ‘don’t worry son - I’ve done a deal. I go and my grandson stays’.

My son eventually beat his cancer and now he is a healthy pre-teen wanting to learn how to drive so he can one day drive his girl in a Ford Mustang to the school dance. He gets to do that not only because of my dad’s negotiation skills, but because the NSW Health system gave me my boy back from the brink.

Legacy

Since my father rose straight up to heaven, we talk every day about legacy and the importance of making the most of life. So in his honour, I started researching ways that leaders could use technology for the benefit of underprivileged people - just like the community I grew up in and many like it and much worse across the nation. And whilst I thought I previously understood the power of advanced health tech, it was only when that tech saved my son's life that I felt the true value of its worth.

I now understand that digital health tech can be a transformative force that has the potential to bridge the Digital Divide and forever change the lives of families - because it did that for me. By providing improved access, empowering individuals, and revolutionising healthcare delivery, I believe that health tech holds the key to a more equitable and efficient healthcare system.

Embracing these advancements is not only a matter of innovation but also a crucial step towards ensuring that everyone has the access they need to obtain necessary healthcare resources and services, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographic location. Looking forward, I am dedicating myself to find ways to bring advanced health tech to those who don’t have it - so that they too can save their children in the same way that my son was saved.

And that’s the reason why health tech matters to me.