Keeping Kiwi Families Healthy: ProCare Continues To Enhance Support For Practices Over The Christmas And Summer Period

As general practices gear up to take some well-deserved and needed time off over the Christmas period, leading healthcare provider, ProCare, has stepped in to provide funding and subsidised virtual GP appointments via CareHQ to ensure that its communities maintain access to more affordable healthcare over summer.

This initiative will see ProCare provide a significant level of funding to support patients in its network of practices to access virtual healthcare via CareHQ at a subsidised cost, allowing patients with a Community Services Card (CSC) to pay just $19.50 and non-CSC card holders to pay $49.95. ProCare will ‘top-up’ the difference to cover the standard CareHQ consult of $79.95.

Bindi Norwell, Group Chief Executive at ProCare says: “Amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this Christmas Funding initiative aims to ensure that patients have continued access to essential healthcare services during the busiest time of the year, as many GPs take a well-deserved break.

“By investing in virtual consultations via CareHQ, we are looking to not only alleviate pressure on in-person clinics but also provide affordable, accessible care for our communities at a time when they need it most. This virtual option to book a CareHQ GP through their practice portal or via the CareHQ website will also allow a lot of flexibility for patients, who can access CareHQ, even if they are on holiday in other parts of New Zealand,” continues Norwell.

Gabrielle Lord, General Manager of Practice and Clinical Services says: “We all know you can’t pour from an empty cup. This initiative will go a long way to support a tired and overstretched general practice workforce, that has been working relentlessly over the last few years.

“Practices and their staff can rest easy knowing that their patients are well cared for, giving them the much-needed time off to take care of their own wellbeing,” Lord concludes.

Brett Butler, General Manager of CareHQ says: “As is always the case with CareHQ, there will be no clawback generated for practices when their patients book an appointment with us. Additionally, upon consent, detailed notes of the consultation will be provided back to the practice ensuring continuity of care for patients. There is no charge for practices who sign up to have CareHQ integrated into their practice portal booking systems, and the portal can be activated any time to help with afterhours and overflow as required.”

Funding is available for practices within the ProCare Network from Monday 16 December 2024 until Sunday 19 January 2025, subject to demand.

About CareHQ

CareHQ is a virtual consultation service that provides New Zealanders with a convenient and easy to use telehealth consultations with specialist General Practitioners (GP), there for when they can’t see their regular GP or need support after-hours. CareHQ has delivered over 100,000 consults to New Zealanders to date and continues to grow every day.

CareHQ is made possible by a partnership between Southern Cross Health Insurance and ProCare however CareHQ exists as an independent service from both these organisations.

Collectively Southern Cross Health Insurance and ProCare already care for and are trusted by more than one million New Zealanders:

• Southern Cross has more than 920,000 members
• ProCare supports 143 general practices across Tāmaki Makaurau, covering almost 700,000 enrolled patients.

About ProCare

ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to nearly 700,000 patients across Auckland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau.

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