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Patients First – by Name and Focus

Every day in New Zealand an average of 50,000 people visit their GP. By comparison 1200 people are admitted to hospital and there are 2000 ED visits. We are in a time of change – where primary care is finally starting to get the investment attention it needs around quality and information.  That is both an opportunity and a responsibility. 

We are pleased to be working on doing our part to deliver this though an integrated programme of work that combines Cornerstone and Patients First (formerly qi4gp).

Patients First is a programme of activities that seeks to enable quality through information.   It is a partnership between RNZCGP and GPNZ, with funding from the National Health IT Board. The “Patients First” programme is patient focussed, sector driven and clinically led.  It reflects a shift from the qi4gp to a broader focus on primary care and recognition that the overall programme is about quality and reach into the networks of care. 

The focus is very much on quality and including how information supports it.  The specific projects underway currently include:

  • PMS Requirements
  • Clinical Pathway tools feasibility study
  • Integrated library of Clinical Measures
  • GP2GP
  • Better integration of information between secondary and primary care.
  • Safe medication management – including medicines reconciliation processes between hospitals, GPs and Rest homes

Take a look at www.patientsfirst.org.nz for more information. We are excited about the opportunities this will provide for us in meeting the challenges of the future of healthcare delivery in New Zealand.  It is a time of change and a time of challenge – let’s not pass up the opportunity.