KEY POINTS:
A new report into the health systems of several developed countries shows New Zealand's system is performing well in some areas, but poorly in others.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson today released research from the New York-based Commonwealth Fund looking at a range of health indicators in nine developed countries. Most of the data was from 2004.
He said the research showed New Zealand was performing well in key measures. They include:
* 90 per cent of general practices having after-hours care arrangements -- second only to the Netherlands
* New Zealand GPs having the second-highest rate of electronic patient record use
* New Zealand practices reported the highest usage of electronic lab results and hospital records
* New Zealand's five-year breast cancer survival rate was better than average and higher than Australia or Japan, but Australia's data was from 1992
However, the research also shows New Zealanders also had the lowest number of visits to the doctor a year -- 3.2, compared with an OECD median of 6.1 -- and the third-lowest rate of practising doctors.
New Zealand had the lowest healthcare spending per capita per year at $2083 -- about a third of the US -- and the lowest spending on pharmaceuticals, at $174 a year per person.
New Zealand also had the second-highest potential years of life lost to diabetes, at 72 years per 100,000 people. Only the US was worse.
Its influenza immunisation rates for over 65-year-olds rated third worst.
Mr Hodgson said the research showed there was still some work to do, but the Government's primary healthcare strategy was addressing those areas.
He said the rollout of universal subsidies for GP visits would help. It was planned to be completed by July 1 next year.
The research compared New Zealand, Australia, the US, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Canada and Britain.
- NZPA
