Specialist GP Nikki Vadgama provides some tips to make your next paediatric eczema consult easier. She includes a review of new guidelines, resources, websites and medications for paediatric eczema management
21st Century tools for a new era in patient communication
21st Century tools for a new era in patient communication
![Tāmaki Health_David Codyre, Pallavi Mishra, Susan Laurie and Prabhu Pandey at the NZPHA](/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_image_16_7_/public/2021-05/NZPHA21_203610_JC2885_T%C4%81maki%20Health_0.jpg?itok=0mMXIoOM)
We are on our summer break and the editorial office is closed until 17 January. In the meantime, please enjoy our Summer Hiatus series, an eclectic mix from our news and clinical archives and articles from The Conversation throughout the year.
This article was first published in the 26 May edition
BDO BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
This award recognises excellence in business acumen and achievement. The winner will be a business (or business owner/manager) that has focused on achieving outstanding results for their primary care business. Their drive and ambition to be profitable and able to adapt to meet industry challenges will be obvious, as well as a willingness to learn as you go
Pictured above: Kate Moodabe; BDO's Matt Coulter; Mark Vella; Gina Cook, business advisory partner and head of BDO's Healthcare sector at BDO Auckland, BDO's Rachel Shoebridge, Aarti Narain, Rakesh Patel, Rachael Scully, Ranjna Patel, Samir Ranchhod, Mahesh Patel and Alan Hopkins. Front row: Vijay Mohandoss, Reshmi Lata Chand
WINNER
CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO DRIVE BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES
Tāmaki Health
Transforming the communication platform across its national network has changed the way Tāmaki Health communicates with its patient population.
Tāmaki Health’s network includes more than 250,000 enrolled patients through its Local Doctors and White Cross urgent care clinics, treating more than 4000 patients each day through 47 clinics from Whangārei to Christchurch.
Identifying a better way to interact with patients, Tāmaki Health launched a multi-channel communications programme last year that is improving engagement, education and patient experience.
“The commercial world is much better at communicating with its clients compared with primary health. If you are about to fly somewhere or go to a gym, you get text messages, not just explaining what you need to do, but also marketing. Healthcare can learn from that,” Tāmaki Health chief operating officer Josh Stent says.
“Our existing platforms made that difficult and, with 300,000 patients across the network and most of Auckland using the A&E clinics at some stage, we felt a responsibility to improve our communication platform,” he says.
“With healthcare, there is no shortage of things to talk about. It could be about managing health, reminding people about check-ups or tests, or information on managing diabetes with nutrition.”
The new platform includes a website, telehealth and digital community outreach using social media and electronic direct mail.
“This proved very significant during COVID-19, with patients feeding into our Facebook pages to ask questions and get information. We had nurses hold an open conversation with Pacific Island women about breast cancer awareness and sent out an email with 46 per cent of respondents opening the email,” Mr Stent says.
In addition, a video introducing our Wellness Support Team and free mental health services reached 32,000 patients, while an upbeat video thanking Kiwis for staying at home during the first COVID-19 lockdown reached 192,000 patients.
“The new platform has also allowed us to ask patients to rate their experiences and leave comments about what works and what needs improvingor changing, and we have a lot of insight from that and improved their experience,” Mr Stent says.
For example, people were worried about waiting times. The website now has real-time indicators so a patient can see what the wait times are in clinics and how faraway they are. Last month, there were 16,000 visits to that tool, he says.
Judges' comments:
Your initiative in providing easier access to primary healthcare in a number of innovative ways, particularly to those in higher need. It is to be applauded. Well done
FINALIST
LIVING WATERS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Living Waters Medical
THE TEAM AT LIVING WATERS MEDICAL has transformed a GP practice at the end of its life, into a thriving practice with a focus on community charity projects.
“We faced a lot of challenges and it would have been easy to walk away, but we chose to stay and fight, and our community fought with us,” Living Waters Medical director and principal GP Praveen Thadigiri says.
Living Waters Medical cares for two of the most vulnerable communities in Whanganui, the suburb of Castlecliff (NZDep Index 10) and Whanganui Prison.
Following a change of ownership in late 2014 an RNZCGP assessment declared the old Castlecliff Health practice “dysfunctional”. But after a lot of hard work, the practice relaunched in November 2020 as Living Waters Medical, with a new building (winning the NZPHA Good Space Award in 2020), a new business model and a thriving practice.
The business model includes a resthome and a restaurant, giving the staff resources to provide low-cost care and continue community projects.
“We haven’t taken a step back, even when faced with diversity, and we are still standing...and standing strong,” Dr Thadigiri says.
Judges' comments:
Clearly, this centre leaves a daily heart print on its community. Wonderfully engaged and enthusiastic in the approach
We're publishing this article as a FREE READ so it is FREE to read and EASY to share more widely. Please support us and our journalism – subscribe here