ProCare Unites With Māori Providers Expediting Data To Boost Vax Outreach

ProCare, New Zealand’s largest network of primary healthcare professionals, is partnering with Māori community providers to expedite vaccination rates of Auckland whānau.

It has signed a MOU with Taumata Kōrero, a collective of Māori providers that serve more than 200,000 Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Pae Herenga o Tāmaki, of Whānau Ora to reach unvaccinated whānau.

The data sharing agreement puts boundaries and personal registers aside to work at a higher level to ensure whānau – both Māori and non-Māori have access to being vaccinated.

The data will enable Māori providers to reach out to whānau at localities of interest faster.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at ProCare says: “We’re really committed to Te Tiriti through ensuring equitable health outcomes for Māori by working in partnership and alongside Māori providers to find an effective approach that works.”

“This collaboration means collectively we have the capacity and capability to reach out to communities to provide the wrap-around support needed to increase vaccination rates for Māori,” she says.

The new partnership offers the potential for so much more into the future with practices at a local level working with the collective from the basis of trust, transparency, and a shared common outcome.

Chief Executive of Papakura Marae and member of Taumata Kōrero, Tony Kake says the outcome, thanks to the local GPs, is a welcome boost to everyone’s efficiency and effectiveness with the traffic light system just one day away.

“The key thing here is working together locally to achieve vaccination one town at a time – Papakura then Manurewa – we’ll all have our turn. This data is accurate to a household level – we will text, phone, knock on doors to confirm if whānau want a vaccination – if they do, we’ll do it. “

Data shared by ProCare not only includes COVID-19 vaccination status but is also risk stratified, meaning it identifies those who also have underlying health conditions which might put them at increased risk of severe complications from COVID, such as those with heart disease.

Mihi Blair, ProCare’s Kaiwhakahaere Māori says: “Māori whānau have been disportionately affected by the current COVID-19 outbreak. We want to ensure as organisations are all working together to reach out to as many whānau as possible, as quickly as possible, to provide COVID-19 vaccination and any other support that is requried. Sharing Māori vacciation data, especially that which prioritises those most at risk, really helps us put effort into helping the right people. We know this has the potential to save lives.”

The Māori vaccination data shared by ProCare was approved by the ProCare Clinical Governance Committee with approval from ProCare general practices. The data does not include someone’s full medical history, only their COVID-19 vaccination status, which is stratified for other underlying health conditions to ensure those most at risk can be prioritised.

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