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Otago Southern Region Primary Health Organization

Frequently Asked Questions

What is primary health care?

Primary health care is usually the first contact you have with health professionals, for example, when you visit a General Practice (medical centre) and see a doctor or nurse. It is not hospital care but professional health care in the community where you and your family live and work. Your family doctor is also known as a General Practitioner (GP) - GPs and practice nurses provide most of your primary health care.

Primary health care covers a broad range of out-of-hospital services, although not all of them are government-funded. It aims to improve the health of the people in communities by working with them through health improvement and preventative services, such as health education, disease prevention and screening.

Examples of primary health care include the following:

  • General practices
  • Pharmacy
  • Mobile nursing services
  • Maternity services
  • Family planning and sexual health services
  • Mental health services
  • Dentistry

Also included in primary health care are therapies such as physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy services. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are best managed by primary health care services so that complications can be prevented or mitigated.

What is a Primary Health Organisation (PHO)?

PHOs are organisations that plan, coordinate, and fund primary health care. PHOs are responsible for their own communities and are therefore able to address local health needs. PHOs mainly involve General Practices (medical centres) and are increasingly involving other health care providers, such as community nurses, podiatrists, pharmacists, dentists, and other groups.

Almost all General Practices in Otago have contracts with a PHO to provide primary health care services to their community. The PHO funds the General Practice for each person that has enrolled with the General Practice.

Being enrolled with a PHO General Practice means that funding is made available to your General Practice to care for you and your family. Depending on your age and where you live, you can access cheaper doctor visits and pharmacy prescriptions.

The PHOs receive funding from the government, through the District Health Boards, to subsidise a range of health services. The funding is based on the numbers and characteristics of people enrolled with them (e.g. age, sex, ethnicity, etc). The funding pays for:

  • Providing better care and treatment when people are ill by improving the coordination and linkage of services
  • Helping people to stay healthy by new and innovative health programmes
  • Reaching out to groups in the community who have poor health or who are missing out on primary health care
  • More affordable care for the community.

Enrolment with a PHO takes place at your usual General Practice. The staff there will talk with you about enrolment, what it involves, and what it means for you and your family. You can only enrol with one PHO General Practice at a time. If you visit another General Practice you will not be eligible to receive cheaper fees.

How is a PHO different?

As well as being cheaper if you are in a high needs area, you should notice some other differences.

The first is that the PHO does not want to see you only when you are sick and need to see a doctor. The PHO actively tries to keep you well and/or treat you early in your sickness.

The second is that there will be a range of people looking after those enrolled with a PHO. You might see a nurse, a Maori health worker, a Pacific health worker, a community health worker, a dietician, or you might see your family doctor - General Practitioner (GP). All PHOs include a GP, but are not limited to GPs.

The way PHOs are set up gives the community a chance to influence the PHO’s decisions. All PHOs have a Board of Directors, which include people from the community, as well as general practice and iwi representatives.

Why the change to PHOs?

Because too many New Zealanders weren't accessing primary health care – that's care outside the hospital. Those countries around the world with the healthiest people are countries with good primary health care services. In those countries people live longer, are healthier, and the cost of health care to the government is lower.

PHOs are not just focused on people being ill; they look at ways to keep people healthy. If more money is spent on keeping people well, then less money will be required for secondary health care – treating people in hospital.

What do I get out of joining a PHO?

Children under six years old are eligible for reduced cost doctor visits and free prescription medicines regardless of their doctor belonging to a PHO or not. If you are aged 6-24 years old or 45 years or older and enrolled with a PHO you are eligible to:

  • Get reduced cost doctor’s fees
  • pay only $3 per prescription medicine (as long as the medicine is fully subsidised and the prescription is from your usual PHO doctor).

Cheaper doctors’ visits and prescription medicines through PHOs for those aged 25-44 years are planned to be rolled out in July 2007. Those aged 25-44 years can continue to use their Community Services Card.

How do I join a PHO?

It’s easy. To enrol with a PHO you need to sign an enrolment form at your General Practice (medical centre). The form will ask you for personal details such as name, age, date of birth, address and ethnicity. Ask General Practice staff if you need any assistance with completing the form.

The information collected at enrolment comes under the Privacy Act 1993 and the Health Information Privacy Code 1994, so the privacy of your information is protected.

Although you can only enrol in one PHO General Practice at a time, you can change your PHO General Practice if you wish. If you are away from home and get sick, you can still see a doctor in the area you are visiting, but you will not be eligible for cheaper fees.

An important concept for people who belong to a PHO General Practice is the concept of continuity – the added value that comes from a long-term relationship that people have with their health care provider.