https://www.healthcarehome.org.nz
Patient portals and workload
GPs are faced by increasing demand on their time, including from patient portal work. Portals are preferred by patients, and offer significant time savings when used in a considered way.
Dr Andrew Miller is the Clinical Lead for HCH nationally. In this presentation, he sets out his experience using portals, and provides tips for effectively managing workload. There is a discussion with local GPs on their experience at the end.
In summary, used with a clear purpose and plan, portals are of significant value to patients, and save time for patients, GPs, and the practice team. Without this clarity of purpose, the messaging feature of portals will result in extra work for GPs.
Dr Andrew Miller presentation on patient portals and workload
CLIC Resources Available
Dot Brown, the CLIC Project Manager at WellSouth has been developing a range of resources for practices at all stages of CLIC. Whether you are just starting CLIC, or CLIC is well established in your practices. Everyone should watch the patient experience of CLIC.
All resources can be found by clicking here.
Health Care Home Plan Template
We ask each HCH practice to come up with a yearly plan for what they want to achieve. To make this easier for practices we use a template. This template includes the core components of HCH and the things that practices say make the biggest difference to their practice. You can see the template here.
University Of Otago HCH Research
We think HCH makes a difference to practices, but we have asked the University of Otago Department of General Practice and Rural Health to undertake an independent review of HCH. See their initial findings here.
Health Care Home - Lots of resources online
Kia ora, there are lots of resources from the HCH collaborative online which can help you to understand what HCH is all about, or to implement aspects of HCH better into your own practice. You can find these videos by clicking here.
Let us know what was interesting or useful at hch@wellsouth.org.nz
Health Care Home Opportunity
The final chance to be part of the Southern Health Care Home programme is now underway. The next cohort of practices will kick-off on 1 July 2021 and another on 1 November 2021. If you want to be part of this final group get in touch with the Health Care Home team on hch@wellsouth.org.nz.
To find out more about the HCH programme, and what it would mean for your practice, come along to one of the sessions the HCH team are putting on over the coming weeks.
4 May – Invercargill – 12.30pm – WellSouth Invercargill, 40 Clyde Street
10 May – Dunedin – 12.30pm – WellSouth Dunedin, Level 2, 333 Princes Street
11 May – Zoom – 5.30pm - Join Zoom Meeting: https://healthcloud.zoom.us/j/3491817703
13 May – Zoom – 8am - Join Zoom Meeting: https://healthcloud.zoom.us/j/3491817703
New Opportunities to join Southern Health Care Home
Practices interested in joining the Southern Health Care Home programme are encouraged to get in touch with the Health Care Home team at hch@wellsouth.org.nz as the final opportunity to start
Health Care Home in now underway.
A cohort of practices is scheduled to kick-off on 1 July 2021 and another on 1 November 2021. There are currently 24 practices participating, with over 172,000 patients.
Health Care Home is a two-year funded programme which focuses on four areas of general practice: sustainability, urgent and unplanned care, proactive care for those with complex needs, and routine and preventative care. Beyond the jargon, Health Care Home is about finding ways to spend more time with patients who really need it, improving patient experience, and improving processes to make things easier for staff. Although only a two-year programme, we challenge you to think about where you want to be in five years’ time, and how to get there.
We encourage you to contact a current Health Care Home practice to hear about their experience, or reach out to the Health Care Home team and we will put you in touch.
Next steps
Over the coming months the Health Care Home team will arrange information sessions in Dunedin, Invercargill, or Central Otago, including by Zoom. Of course, please get in touch at any time.
If you remain interested, there will be a very short application, after which the practices will be prioritised based on the number and/or rates of high needs, Māori and over 65 year old patients. We suggest getting in touch even if you are a practice with a low number of these patients.
If you would like any more information or to arrange a visit, feel free to contact us at hch@wellsouth.org.nz.
23 February 2021
Each month we will be posting an update on how Health Care Home is going, what we have been working on, or anything we think you might find interesting.
Read our monthly report for February by clicking here.
Call Management in the HCH Model
Part of the HCH Model of Care asks practices to consider how to manage their reception, prioritising kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) interaction. One option is to remove phones and other administrative tasks from the front desk. Carin Hastie talks about her, and the patients, experience of doing this at Broadway Medical Centre. Thanks Carin!
Health Care Home Model of Care Enhancement
For the last few months the HCH national collaborative have been working on developing an enhanced model of care with a renewed focus on equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Feedback around the new model has been gathered and can be viewed here. The new model is currently being finalised, but in the meantime if you wish to hear more from the collaborative then register for a zoom meeting on the 13th October by clicking here.
In case you missed it...
We have been talking to practices all across Otago & Southland about next round of Health Care Home. If you couldn't make these sessions then the information can be found here, and feel free to contact us on hch@wellsouth.org.nz to chat further!
More practices to join Southern HCH program
WellSouth is inviting more general practices in Otago and Southland to participate in the Southern Health Care Home (HCH) programme. It is hoped practices covering an additional 150,000 patients will start HCH over the 12 months from 1 November 2020, with priority being given to practices with high numbers of high needs patients.
Information sessions will be held on;
15 September (8 am, WellSouth Offices, Invercargill)
17 September (5.30 pm, WellSouth Offices, Dunedin)
17 September (12.30 pm by zoom -
https://healthcloud.zoom.us/j/3491817703
21 September (10.30 am, WellSouth Offices, Alexandra, TBC)
22 September (12.30 pm by zoom -
https://healthcloud.zoom.us/j/3491817703
Come along to any session that suits, hope to see you there!
12 September 2020
Listen to Dr Prue Murdoch from Amity Health Centre discuss the benefits of a patient portal.
17 March 2020
An excellent, practical guide to how to use a patient portal for secure messages and booked phone or video consults. Thanks to our friends at Pinnacle Midland Health Network.
Please contact the WellSouth HCH team hch@wellsouth.org.nz or 03 477 1163 if you have any questions.
Click here to view: A guide to remote consultations
17 December 2019
Gaylene Hastie, Nurse Practitioner from Queenstown Medical Centre talking about their HCH journey at the recent National HCH Symposium. https://webcast.hinz.nz/Mediasite/Channel/hchcollaborativesymposium2019/watch/1b5fa9289ef740d49e587f50502f83bf1d
11 December 2019
Introduction to Health Care Home
Have a look at a two minute video explaining health care home from a patient’s perspective. It’s a great introduction to why to do health care home.
https://www.healthcarehome.org.nz
16 October 2019
Health Care Home National Collaborative Symposium - HiNZ, 19th November Hamilton
If you are interested in health care home, we encourage you to think about attending the National Health Care Home Collaborative Symposium in Hamilton on the 19th of November. It is also possible to attend online.
17 speakers with a range of clinical and change management background, all highly experienced on the Health Care Home journey, will be presenting on the four main parts of HCH.
To register go to https://www.hinz.org.nz/page/HealthCareHomeCollaborative.
Health Care Home Symposium 19 Nov 2019
27 June 2019
Patient and clinician attitudes to OpenNotes.
A University of Otago Trainee Intern Health Care Evaluation Project June 2019.
Conclusion: Overall, our survey demonstrated largely positive attitudes towards OpenNotes by both patients and clinicians. However, there were challenges with the methodology of the survey including a short data collection period. A small sample size limited the generalisability, and the results were likely impacted by non-response bias.
Patient and clinician attitudes to OpenNotes
11 April 2019
Recent videos, courtesy of Pegasus, on other districts’ experiences of health care home. Note videos are all password protected. Password = HCHCanterbury.
Dr Andrew Miller GP, Health Care Home National Clinical Lead – overview and evidence of the success of Health Care Home.
Melissa Simpson, Programme Lead, Health Care Home, Compass Health – gains for the practice and for the patient.
23 January 2019
Introductions to key elements of the HCH model, from CMDHB.
16 November 2018
Health Care Home programme expands.
23 October 2018
Patient portals are just one part of the Health Care Home.
Patient portals are just one part of the Health Care Home
8 October
Compass Health reflections on the second year of their HCH model.
Compass HCH Second Year Reflections
Productivity Commission report on early evidence of effectiveness of HCH in Wellington.
Productivity Commission Health Care Homes
7 September 2018
Improving Primary Care (GP) to Patient Communication. Getting Portals Across the Line
Dr John Morgan - 3 September 2018
6 September 2018
Southern Health Future - Podcast
Interview with Stuart Barson on Southern Health Care Home from Otago Access Radio.
http://bit.ly/HealthCareHomesOARFM
HSRAANZ Webinar – Primary Care Stepping Up: learning and outcomes from the New Zealand Health Care Home Programme
27 July 2018
NZ Doctor on Southern Health Care Home
Southern DHB chooses 16 practices eager to become health care homes
Southern Health Care Home general practices unveiled
Health Care Home Newsletter July 2018
The HCH National Collaborative newsletters are our regular updates of news and initiatives on primary care, especially those that are related to Health Care Home, across the country. Attached is the third issue (July 2018). It features the launch of Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs resource e-book) and the Minister’s visit in June 2018. Happy reading, and please feel free to circulate it to other colleagues.
Health Care Home Newsletter July 2018
4 July 2018
The EoI process is complete. We aim to make an announcement of the successful practices by 11 July.
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
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.