Primary Health Organisation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), in New Zealand, are a collection of health providers, which are funded on a capitation basis by the New Zealand Government via its District Health Board. They are usually set up as not-for-profit trusts, and have as their goal the improvement of their population's health.
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[edit] History of PHOs
In the early 1990s, general practices were joining together to form groups known as Independent Practitioner Associations or IPAs. They did this to better negotiate with the purchasers of healthcare at that time.
Prior to the introduction of PHOs, general practitioners have been paid using a fee for service model. For every person that went through their door, the GP received a set amount of money from the state. For some time previous, the Government had been trying to introduce a capitation model for some time before this, that is give practices a set amount of money depending on the population that they serve.
These voluntary IPAs forming, gave the Government an important stepping stone to introduce capitation-based funding. In 2001, the Government introduced PHOs, which were similar to the already existing IPAs.
[edit] Structure and goals of a PHO
A PHO is set up as a not-for-profit with both community and provider representation. They maintain a list of their enrolled populations for which they get funding.
PHOs include not just GPs and nurses, but also other health providers.
The aims of a PHO
[edit] Funding of PHOs
Primary Health Organisations are allocated funds depending the characteristics of their enrolled population (this is called capitation).
The PHO receives a set amount of money from the District Health Board for every member, depending on their age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. They are also allocated funds for health promotion, individuals with special care requirements, as well as for rural practice.
PHOs also have the right to charge fees to their patients for each visit.
This new policy costs the Government more money to implement, and the expected proportion of each GP visit paid by the Government is higher than it has been previously. This means that by-and-large, New Zealanders can expect to pay less for a visit to the doctor.
[edit] Perceived advantages of PHOs
[edit] Benefits for individual patients
- Overall lower fees
- Wider range of services
[edit] Benefits for the population as a whole
- Encouragement of rural practice
- Increased emphasis on preventative measures
[edit] Benefits for general practices
- Steady and predictable stream of income
- Better use of nurses (previously, a doctor had to see a patient for a practice to get paid by the Government)
[edit] External links
North Island PHOs
- [1] Waikato PHO.
- [2] Lake Taupo PHO.
- [3] Turanganui PHO.
- [4] Pinnacle Taranaki PHO.
- [5] Pinnacle Group (Management Services to PHOs)
More information about PHOs:
- Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) – Q&As Questions and answers about PHOs, targeted at general population.
- Ministry of Health - Established PHOs by DHB A list of all PHOs in New Zealand.
