ProCare Network excels in National Health Targets

2 September 2014

For immediate release

ProCare Network excels in National Health Targets

ProCare’s ranking as first equal and second in the recently released National Health Target PHO results is a remarkable achievement for the network, says ProCare Health Ltd Board Chair Dr Harley Aish.

The ProCare network results are:

1st equal - more heart and diabetes checks

92% - total population

90% - high needs

2nd - better help for smokers to quit

104% - total population

105% - high needs

Results are above 100 percent as

(100% is reached by giving brief advice to every smoker who visits their practice. This was exceeded by giving brief advice to enrolled smokers who hadn’t attended in the last 12 months, ie via texting and phone calls)

The network also reached 93% for eight-month-old immunisations and 92% for high needs children.

Dr Aish says these results demonstrate what can be realised when the network works towards common objectives and learns from each other. ‘While the numbers are impressive, what is really exciting is the difference the network has made to people’s understanding of their health risks, especially in our Maori and Pacific communities. Just as an example, our referrals to Quitline increased by 400% over the last year and between April and June 1600 people quit smoking. Smoking rates among for our enrolled population have fallen to 14%. Shows what we can do when we get all bits of the puzzle right.’

As a PHO, strong clinical leadership and collaboration were central to achieving the health targets, says Dr Aish. ProCare worked closely with practices, identifying the support they needed, be it extra people, IT support or funding. ‘We dug around as a team to uncover what worked well, what didn’t, and shared this information freely. For a lot of practices now, CVD risk screening and smoking – brief advice is now business as usual.

‘Practices developed some very creative solutions for getting hold of hard-to-reach patients. One very effective strategy was holding special nurse-led clinics on a Saturday morning. In just one four-hour session at one practice, the nurses saw 22 patients, carried out blood tests, vaccinations, screenings, changed dressings, updated patient files and sent out 160 texts giving advice on quitting smoking.’

Dr Aish says being able to leverage the skills and services of partner organisations such as Quitline was a great help. ‘Practices have good processes in place now to sustain this level of screening and support. It’s such a natural way of working and caring for our patients. Reaching our targets means doing good things for our patients, family and community.’

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