Country’s healthcare system in a nutshell

New Zealand's healthcare system, overseen by Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, has a high quality healthcare system, largely funded through general taxation. This funding structure ensures that healthcare services are either free or subsidised for those who meet the eligibility criteria for publicly funded healthcare in the country. For example, public hospitals treat citizens or permanent residents free of charge, and primary care services and medications listed by PHARMAC (the New Zealand government agency managing the pharmaceutical budget) are subsidised by the government, however, patients are still required to make a co-payment.

While the public system covers most health needs, private health insurance is also available to expedite access to certain treatments ​(Southern Health, n.d.).
Emergency services are primarily provided by St John New Zealand charity, supported with a mix of private (donated) and public (subsidy) funds, and operated by volunteers.( Givealittle, n.d.; Lourens, 2024)

In 2022, a ‘Health Futures Act’ was established by the government with the mission of ensuring everyone could access quality health care. A key aspect of this initiative was the centralisation of the country's previously fragmented healthcare system. The reform led to the dissolution of the 20 District Health Boards and the creation of a unified organisation, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand. The Ministry of Health also created the ‘Māori Health Authority’, with spending power, whose role is to make sure the Māori community are involved at every level of decision-making (Ministry of Health, 2023).

By mid-2024, these reforms have been implemented, with the 2 organisations fully operational.

Health New Zealand is the national health agency responsible for delivering healthcare services across New Zealand. It oversees the daily operations of the country's healthcare system through four regional divisions. Each region collaborates with district offices, situated closer to local communities, to devise and implement plans tailored to local needs for the enhancement of community health and wellbeing.

The Agency is responsible for the management of all healthcare services, encompassing hospital, primary and community care. National planning of hospitals and specialised services aims to ensure consistent delivery throughout the country, and the organisation also oversees national contracts. (Health New Zealand, 2021)

According to the most recent data from 2011, health insurance covered the entire population of New Zealand. This coverage encompasses both those who are members of health insurance schemes and those who have free access to state-provided healthcare services (Our World in Data, n.p.).

Public vs private

Open

Source: The World Bank.
The pink column refers to the public expenditure as a % of the country’s total healthcare expenditure. The blue dot is the country’s expenditure on health per capita, expressed in international dollars at purchasing power parity.

The national infrastructure

My Health Account is a digital health identity service provided by Health New Zealand. It allows individuals aged 16 and over to securely access online health services from anywhere. This service helps users verify their identity digitally, ensuring that only they can view and manage their personal health data. By creating a My Health Account, users can confidently access and control their health information, deciding when and with whom to share it. Additionally, parents can manage important health information for their children by linking their accounts (Te Whatu Ora, n.d.).

Portals

There is no national government portal or personal health records platform. Instead there is a market with 3 privately-owned GP portal systems. Through one of these (Manage My Health), patients can also receive their hospital care documents.

If patients want to access their primary care information, they can ask at the reception of their GP or other community healthcare provider about registering for the patient portal they use. Once they are registered to a portal, they can access some of their health information (depending on the features offered by the portal itself), for example:

• health conditions

• allergies

• prescriptions

• immunisations

• lab results

• clinician notes

• upcoming appointments

• hospital clinic letters, discharge summaries and referral updates, (via the Manage My Health portal).

Some portals let patients interact with the healthcare providers with features such as:

• appointment booking

• requesting repeat prescriptions

• messaging the GP

Patients should check with their healthcare provider to find out what functions they offer.
The portals used are :

• Manage My Health: the platform used by most GP practices in NZ, developed in 2008 and now partnered with Health New Zealand.

• Health 365, platform used some GPs.

• ConnectMed, owned by Cereus.

(Ministry of Health, New Zealand Government, n.d.)

Bibliography:

Givealittle (n.d.) St John National. Available at: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/stjohnnational (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Health New Zealand (2021) Our health and disability system. Available at: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-04/htu-factsheet-health-new-zealand-en-apr21.pdf (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Lourens, M. (2024) ‘Part-funded paramedics: Should our ambulance service be government-run?’, The Press, 16 February. Available at: https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/350172288/part-funded-paramedics-should-our-ambulance-service-be-government-run (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Ministry of Health (2022) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. Available at: https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2022/0030/latest/LMS575405.html (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Ministry of Health (2023) Health system reforms. Available at: https://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/health-system-reforms (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Ministry of Health, New Zealand Government. (n.d.). Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand - Access your healthcare information. Accessed at: . (Accessed: 25 January 2024)

PHARMAC (n.d.) Home. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Scoop Health Independent News. Hospital Manage My Health Launched Today. (29 March 2023). Accessed at: . (Accessed: 25 January 2024)

Southern Health (n.d.) About the New Zealand Health Care System. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Te Whatu Ora (n.d.) My Health Account. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Te Whatu Ora (n.d.) About My Health Account. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Te Whatu Ora (n.d.) Home. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).

Te Whatu Ora (n.d.) Māori Health. Available at: (Accessed: 24 July 2024).