Source: Radio New Zealand
123RF
A corporate healthcare provider has hit back on Labour’s claims that it doesn’t prioritise community needs.
On Sunday, the party announced a policy that would offer doctors and nurse practitioners low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones, if elected next year.
The loans would only be available for owner-operated general practices, with corporate-owned clinics excluded.
Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall told Morning Report on Monday that although many corporate-owned practices provided good care, there were instances where priority was not given to community needs.
She used an example in Lower Hutt where the practice gave up on doing face-to-face consultations because they had taken all the funding that comes with enrolling a large patient population and then not hired the doctors to support that.
Tend Health founder and co-chief executive Cecilia Robinson said Verrall’s comment were “pretty odd”.
“I think it’s a pretty odd assertion, it’s not reflective of the data, you know, continuity of care is actually design assured, it’s not an ownership issue, and it really relies on having enough clinicians, modern systems and a model built around long-term relationships with patients.
“So it’s a strange assertion and I think what’s important to discuss is continuity of care which is incredibly important but true continuity of care also depends on the quality of the data, the broader care team supporting our GPs and consistent prescribing practices. That’s really what we need to ensure a safe, seamless patient experience.”
Robinson said Tend was focused on creating access for patients and moving clinicians depending on where demand is highest and patients accessing care in a location that is convenient to them.
“Our patients have a higher satisfaction once we’ve integrated a practice into Tend’s network than what they did pre an integration under a previous ownership structure and why is that? It’s because patients can now access their care that they need in a timely way in a price that is right for them.”
Robinson said there had been a “significant” shift in patient satisfaction, with its data showing it rise from 60 percent to 95 percent.
It was also experiencing a broader enrolment cohort – with an increased number of Māori and Pasifika enrolments.
Robinson said its Bay of Plenty practices had gone from 12 percent enrolment of Māori patients to surpassing 22 percent.
“This is real impact in real communities where patients are making decisions around the healthcare that is best for them.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
