As general practices gear up to take some well-deserved
and needed time off over the Christmas period, leading
healthcare provider, ProCare, has stepped in to provide
funding and subsidised virtual GP appointments via CareHQ to
ensure that its communities maintain access to more
affordable healthcare over summer.
This initiative
will see ProCare provide a significant level of funding to
support patients in its network of practices to access
virtual healthcare via CareHQ at a subsidised cost, allowing
patients with a Community Services Card (CSC) to pay just
$19.50 and non-CSC card holders to pay $49.95. ProCare will
‘top-up’ the difference to cover the standard CareHQ
consult of $79.95.
Bindi Norwell, Group Chief
Executive at ProCare says: “Amid the ongoing
cost-of-living crisis, this Christmas Funding initiative
aims to ensure that patients have continued access to
essential healthcare services during the busiest time of the
year, as many GPs take a well-deserved
break.
“By investing in virtual
consultations via CareHQ, we are looking to not only
alleviate pressure on in-person clinics but also provide
affordable, accessible care for our communities at a time
when they need it most. This virtual option to book a CareHQ
GP through their practice portal or via the CareHQ website
will also allow a lot of flexibility for patients, who can
access CareHQ, even if they are on holiday in other parts of
New Zealand,” continues
Norwell.
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Gabrielle Lord, General Manager
of Practice and Clinical Services says: “We all know you
can’t pour from an empty cup. This initiative will go a
long way to support a tired and overstretched general
practice workforce, that has been working relentlessly over
the last few years.
“Practices and their staff can
rest easy knowing that their patients are well cared for,
giving them the much-needed time off to take care of their
own wellbeing,” Lord concludes.
Brett Butler,
General Manager of CareHQ says: “As is always the case
with CareHQ, there will be no clawback generated for
practices when their patients book an appointment with us.
Additionally, upon consent, detailed notes of the
consultation will be provided back to the practice ensuring
continuity of care for patients. There is no charge for
practices who sign up to have CareHQ integrated into their
practice portal booking systems, and the portal can be
activated any time to help with afterhours and overflow as
required.”
Funding is available for practices within
the ProCare Network from Monday 16 December 2024 until
Sunday 19 January 2025, subject to demand.
About
CareHQ
CareHQ is a virtual consultation service that
provides New Zealanders with a convenient and easy to use
telehealth consultations with specialist General
Practitioners (GP), there for when they can’t see their
regular GP or need support after-hours. CareHQ has delivered
over 100,000 consults to New Zealanders to date and
continues to grow every day.
CareHQ is made possible
by a partnership between Southern Cross Health Insurance and
ProCare however CareHQ exists as an independent service from
both these organisations.
Collectively Southern Cross
Health Insurance and ProCare already care for and are
trusted by more than one million New
Zealanders:
- Southern Cross has more than 920,000
members - ProCare supports 143 general practices
across Tāmaki Makaurau, covering almost 700,000 enrolled
patients.
About ProCare
ProCare is a
leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most
progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing
services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical
support services, mental health and wellness services,
virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by
taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi.
As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we
represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare
professionals who provide care to nearly 700,000 patients
across Auckland. These practices serve the largest Pacific
and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and
the largest Māori population in Tāmaki
Makaurau.
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