Together with our customer Fresh Minds, we were invited by eMHIC to discuss the approach and early results of Fresh Minds’ digital transformation journey as Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest primary mental healthcare service.

You can watch the full webinar (1 hour duration) below. If you prefer, you can read the webinar highlights here, or read the full case study here.

Chapter Highlights

This webinar presents a high-level overview of digital and AI transformation in primary mental healthcare, with a focus on modernising legacy systems, improving referral efficiency, strengthening data quality, and building a scalable, future-ready foundation for care.

If you want to jump to a specific topic check out these timestamps outlined below.

1. Introducing Fresh Minds, Tacklit and the transformation journey

• 0:15 – Nicole Waldron opens the webinar and frames the discussion around how technology systems shape care delivery as services grow.

• 3:41 – Nicole introduces the speakers: Dr Tanya Wilson, General Manager of ProCare Fresh Minds, and Chris Griffiths, Co-founder and CEO of Tacklit.

• 6:39 – Chris introduces Tacklit, its lived-experience-led founding story, and its mission to support mental health organisations with purpose-built technology.

• 8:32 – Tanya introduces Fresh Minds, its focus on primary mental health care in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its growth from around 30 clinicians to around 140.

• 10:47 – Tanya explains how the partnership began, after Fresh Minds identified the need for a better system and saw strong alignment with Tacklit’s mental health focus.

2. Why Fresh Minds needed change and why Tacklit was selected

• 11:13 – Tanya outlines the core challenge: a legacy CMS that was no longer fit for purpose, with outages, poor interoperability, and growing inability to support service demand.

• 11:49 – She explains what Fresh Minds needed in a new platform: a modern, cloud-based, configurable system with stronger workflows, better reporting, and actionable data.

• 12:59 – Tanya shares why Tacklit was selected, including its fit for mental health service delivery, integrated telehealth, configurability, and suitability within budget.

3. Implementation lessons: collaboration, culture and change management

• 14:08 – Tanya describes implementation as a collaborative effort across clinical, operational, digital and data teams, noting that “it takes a village” to stand up a CMS.

• 15:13 – She highlights client data migration as one of the biggest challenges, alongside the need to manage risk, timelines, budget, and clinical quality.

• 16:04 – The discussion explores the importance of making the system culturally appropriate for Aotearoa New Zealand, with input from consumers, staff and GP referrers.

• 19:36 – Tanya reflects on key lessons for other leaders: be realistic about timelines, choose the right migration window, stay grounded in expectations, and support staff through the change.

• 24:07 – Chris builds on these themes, emphasising inclusive design, early internal consensus, dedicated project leadership, and the need to be stubborn on vision but flexible on the details.

4. Early impact: efficiency, data quality and service flexibility

• 16:49 – Tanya shares early results, including a 50% reduction in referral processing time and improved data quality.

• 17:16 – She reflects on staff adoption, including the shift from initial reluctance to team members later saying, “Actually, I really love Tacklit.”

• 18:12 – Tanya explains how the platform has improved service visibility and made it easier to stand up new workspaces as Fresh Minds grows.

• 18:45 – Integrated virtual care is described as a game changer, helping the team move more easily between in-person and virtual delivery and improving access.

• 19:11 – Tanya also discusses future-proofing, including Fresh Minds’ ambition to continue expanding digital access for clients.

5. What leaders should prepare for next

• 31:03 – Nicole asks what mental health organisations should be preparing for as technology continues to evolve rapidly.

• 31:35 – Chris advises leaders to get into a position where they can respond to change, rather than remain constrained by legacy systems and “shadow spreadsheets.”

• 33:19 – Tanya agrees, comparing technology adoption to the tools clinicians offer clients: services also need the right tools to do their best work.

• 34:42 – Tanya explains that technology should support clinical quality, reduce time spent on administration, and help staff focus on care.

• 35:25 – The speakers discuss emerging tools such as scribes and automation, and the importance of adopting them in ways that uphold best practice.

6. AI, privacy, compliance and the importance of specialist partners

• 37:05 – An audience question raises the issue of legislation, regulation and safe adoption in mental health settings.

• 37:22 – Tanya explains that Fresh Minds undertook extensive due diligence to ensure the platform aligned with New Zealand standards, legislation and service expectations.

• 39:24 – Chris reflects on the importance of humility, listening, and adapting to local legislative and cultural requirements, including Māori and whānau-centred contexts of care.

• 41:30 – He explains why specialist mental health technology matters, noting that mental health care journeys are fundamentally different from inpatient hospital or general healthcare workflows.

• 45:19 – The discussion turns to data privacy and security, including where data is held and how sensitive information is protected.

• 46:13 – Chris outlines Tacklit’s security approach, including modern encryption, ISO 27001 alignment, Cyber Essentials work in the UK, and security as a first-class concern.

• 47:49 – Chris discusses Tacklit’s approach to AI, with a focus on narrow, practical use cases that reduce cognitive load and give frontline staff time back.

• 50:31 – In closing, Tanya reflects on staying focused on the north star through change, and how the right systems help organisations uncover what they can do better for both staff and clients.