Doctor Photo: 123RF
One of the main planks in the announcements by the Health Minister, Simeon Brown, to improve access to GP services is a new 24 hour 7 day a week digital service for people to be able to book online medical appointments.
He described the government as being relentlessly focused on improving health outcomes and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare. While the attention on improving primary healthcare has been welcomed, there are worries about possible risks to both patients and doctors if primary health moves too far from in-person treatment and if online consultations are delivered without the medical notes needed. But digital health providers insist this is a much-needed step and that the suggested problems are unlikely to materialise.
Kathryn is joined by Emeritus Professor in the Department of General Practice at Otago University, Les Toop, who is also a Christchurch GP, and Tony Wai, the chair of the Digital Health Association, an advocacy organisation for the digital health sector.
