15 May 2018
An update on patient portals at Karori Medical Centre
7 May 2018
Pinnacle Health Care Home evaluation - updated analysis just released
Summary can be found here
Advertisement for Change facilitator for Southern HCH can be found here
20 April 2018
NZ’s FIRST HEALTH CARE HOME PRACTICES CERTIFIED
This month 12 General Practices from across New Zealand were officially certified Health Care Homes, in the inaugural certification for this new model of care. The Health Care Home model is designed to ensure primary care remains fit for the future; able to cope with increasing demand, an aging population and workforce challenges whilst at the same time delivering improved patient outcomes and satisfaction.
18 April 2018
Health Care Home Newsletter April 2018
16 April 2018
Expressions of Interest documents for Health Care Home.
Please download the document by clicking on the link below
Health Care Home Expression of Interest April 2018
The closing date for expressions of interest is 18 May 29018 at 17:00
16 April 2018
Expressions of Interest documents for Health Care Home will be available on this page today at 16:30.
Your practice will also receive them by email.
Closing date for expressions of interest is 18 May 2018 at 17:00
11 April 2018 Midlands has recorded a significant fall in hospital visits by patients of practices using a Health Care Home model.
Kiwis show the way on Health Care Home • The Medical Republic
A GP-run network in New Zealand has recorded a significant fall in hospital visits by patients of practices using a Health Care Home model.
The Kiwi version is bolder than the Australian government-backed HCH trial confined to patients with chronic disease, in that it involves whole patient populations.
“Our Health Care Home model is a much broader and radical redesign of general practice,” Helen Parker, Health Care Home strategic development manager at the Pinnacle Inc network, told The Medical Republic.
“It covers a redesign of the whole practice population, regardless of whether they are ill or not.”
Data collected by the GP-owned organisation showed that patients of HCH practices were 16% less likely to be admitted to hospital and 8% less likely to present to an emergency department.
The results will be presented in a report measuring the outcomes and performance of the HCH model, expected to be published next month.
“It is a success not just in terms of hospital visits. That is not our main driver,” Parker said. “It’s a success in terms of being a much more convenient service for patients.”
Since Pinnacle kicked off the HCH model in New Zealand’s Midlands region in 2010, a total of 15 practices, with 101,000 patients, have made the transition.
Exhaustive data collection has enabled the group to compare practices’ performance and outputs on a range of indicators, Parker said.
It includes data on GP consultation types and rates, ethnicity and demographic data, email consults, and activity through patient portals where patients can check health records.
“We also collect the outcomes of GP triage consultations, and we’ve also got ED presentation and hospitalisation information, and more.”
The raw data does not show precisely why hospital visits are reduced at HCH practices.
“We have yet to do analysis as to why that is so. But we can see that at the Health Care Home practices, the GPs and nurses see more patients,” Parker said.
“It’s important to remember there are many reasons why people present to ED, such as cost. But at the Health Care Home practices, we’ve got actually have a higher proportion of lower socio-economic patients.”
On the other hand, it’s clear that the model is more efficient for doctors and patients.
“Patients registered with a traditional practice would have to go in for a face-to-face consultation if they felt ill or wanted some advice or treatment,” Parker said.
“In the HCH practice, they can speak to a GP on the phone first. We know that one-third to 50% of patients who ring for a same-day appointment don’t need to come in. The GP can manage them over the phone.”
“This saves the face-to-face appointments for the people who need them most and gets the practice away from being a mini ED service where it’s first-in, first-served, regardless of what they need.”
The non-profit GP network is now supporting other practices and primary care organisations around New Zealand to roll out the model.
Although the New Zealand context is different from Australia’s, with a long history of patient enrollment at general practices, Pinnacle is also sharing its expertise with Australian colleagues.
4 April 2018 Video on Healthcare Home
(5 min 23 sec)
23 March 2018
Some more background information: A recent presentation to New Zealand PHO CEOs on health care home by the National Health Care Home Collaborative.
Presentation from HCH Collaborative
February 2018
Health Care Home will be coming to selected practices in the Southern District during 2018, following an Expression of Interest process, starting soon.
Please bookmark this page as it will be updated regularly as this project develops.
Further information about Health Care Home can be found at on the Health Care Home Collaborative website.
A document outlining the model of care requirements can be downloaded from below
Health Care Home Model of Care Requirements
If you have further questions about Health Care Home email Stuart Barson.