Pioneering spirit wins through

Media Release from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 15 November 2006

Pioneering spirit wins through

GPs know how hard it is to give New Zealand one of the world’s leading primary care systems – because it is their work that has achieved that.

College of GPs president Dr Jonathan Fox thanked Minister of Health Pete Hodgson for passing on the recognition of that work in the Commonwealth Fund research released today.

“Kiwis have always been early adopters of new technology,” Dr Fox said. “Give us a good idea and we’ll play with it, adapt it, improve it..” The comparative research showed New Zealand was highly ranked for their use of electronic lab results and patient records.

“GPs have achieved this through personal investment in their practice,” Dr Fox said. “Buying new computers is not cheap, and it’s that sort of investment that has to be covered by the fees patients pay, above the Government’s primary care subsidy.”

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