Health Care Home practices easing access for patients

3 August 2016

Health Care Home practices easing access for patients

Around 40,000 patients at four general practices will benefit from improved access options as Capital & Coast DHB and local PHOs – Compass Health, Cosine, Ora Toa and Well Health – roll out the new Health Care Homes model across the greater Wellington region.

In July, the practices – Karori, Johnsonville, Newlands Medical Centres and Raumati Road Surgery – undertook to offer patients an enhanced range of services to take the stress out of accessing health care.

“A Health Care Home practice offers a strengthened care team, built around the needs of patients and their family, making it easier to get a wider range of services locally, without having to go to hospital,” says Compass Health CEO Martin Hefford.
“This might include regular meetings with district nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists to wrap services around patients.”
Online services include requesting prescriptions, making appointments, and messaging the GP. Patients can expect improved response to phone calls and, for urgent appointment requests, a conversation with a GP or nurse may even save a trip to the practice. By offering online and phone options, a Health Care Home practice can ensure that people who need to be seen on the day, get an appointment

“The flexibility of options can make a big difference to someone’s day when they can have an appointment over the phone and choose not to drive sick kids across town,” says Jess, mother of two – Newlands.

Development of the Health Care Home programme was overseen by the Integrated Care Collaborative Alliance Leadership Group, which CCDHB and PHOs formed to improve health outcomes for local populations. It is chaired by Dr Bryan Betty.

“The roll out of the health care homes initiative is an important step in the collaborative work that general practice, primary care, and DHB and hospital services do to improve patient outcomes and wellbeing,” he said.

Online access through a Patient Portal can also make life easier for people managing long-term conditions and needing ongoing primary care.

“The Health Care Home initiative helps us identify and operate in the most efficient and patient-centric way within a rapidly changing general practice environment,” says the Karori Medical Centre’s Dr Jeff Lowe.

“This joint DHB-PHO development is a significant change in primary care delivery. It will enable better preventative, proactive and urgent care for our communities,” said CCDHB chief executive Debbie Chin.

“It is a significant investment in primary care that will benefit tens of thousands of people across our region – improving access to their GPs, preventing the need for them to go to hospital, and ultimately resulting in improved health outcomes.”

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