General practitioners lumped with extra charges at the ‘‘13th hour'' for a patient systems upgrade are seeking answers, a sector leader says.
Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman trumpeted the benefits of the system in a press statement yesterday.
But the extra costs have taken GPs by surprise. The upgrade involves the patient enrolment system and an electronic prescribing system.
Ian Macara, chief executive of WellSouth primary health network, said the upgrade cost practices a one-off fee of $675, and then $100 every month. GPs were not told until the ‘‘13th hour'' that they would be footing the bill for the upgrade.
‘‘WellSouth is very concerned about this additional cost for practices; it's another cost that will negatively impact on general practice viability. WellSouth had sought feedback from Otago/Southland GPs on the charges. Concern was also felt in other parts of the country", Mr Macara said.
Dr Coleman's spokeswoman said Otago Daily Times questions had been passed to the Ministry of Health for a response.
In his statement, Dr Coleman said the new enrolment service would benefit practices and patients.
It meant new patients were eligible for subsidised appointments more quickly, because enrolments would be processed faster.
‘‘It allows practices to update their enrolment data to a national database in real time, resulting in greater efficiency and accuracy.
‘‘Across the country up to 22,000 patients change practices each month, in addition to patients enrolling for the first time,'' Dr Coleman said.
Hosted by the Ministry of Health's connected health network, the system was being introduced from this month.
‘‘The National Enrolment Service and the ePrescription Service are important parts of the Health IT Programme,'' Dr Coleman's statement said.
