Kia ora Elliot

  

Thank you for your request for official information. The reference number
for your request is: H2024055359. Apologies for the delay in acknowledging
your request. 

  

As required under the Official Information Act 1982, The Ministry of
Health will endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working
days after the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate
the timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/  

  

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team
on [2][email address]. If any additional factors come to light which
are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that
these can be taken into account.  

Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.

 

Ngā mihi 

 

OIA Services Team 

[4]Ministry of Health information releases 

 

 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Elliot Hawthorne <[FOI #29047 email]>; 
Received: Mon Nov 04 2024 15:54:38 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>; OIA <[email address]>; 
Subject: Official Information request - Time Wasted on Blood Test Results
and Inbox Management

Dear Ministry of Health,

I'm interested in learning more about how healthcare professionals in New
Zealand spend their time on tasks like managing blood test results and
handling inboxes. Under the Official Information Act, I was hoping you
could help me with some information.

If the Ministry of Health isn't the appropriate place for this request,
could you please forward it to Te Whatu Ora and the PHOs.

Specifically, I'm looking for:

1. Time and Resources Spent on Blood Test Results:
1a. Current estimates of how much clinical time Senior Medical Officers
(SMOs), junior doctors, and General Practitioners (GPs) devote to
accepting and reviewing blood test results.
2b. Trends in time allocation for this task over the past five years,
compared to data from 20 years ago.

2. Inboxing Tasks by Doctors:
2a. Current data on the time SMOs, junior doctors, and GPs spend on inbox
management and related administrative tasks.
2b. How this time burden has changed over the last five years, in
comparison to 20 years ago.

3. Impact on Clinical Practice and Patient Care:
3a. Estimates of how much clinical or consultation time is effectively
'lost' due to these non-clinical tasks.
3b. Any available information on the impact of these administrative duties
on patient care, such as delays in diagnosis or reduced time for patient
interactions.

4. Comparative Data Across Healthcare Settings:
4a. Differences in time spent on these tasks between primary care (GPs)
and secondary care (hospital-based doctors).
4b. Insights into how different healthcare systems within New Zealand
approach these tasks and any strategies they've used to reduce time
wastage.

5. Efficiency Measures and Technological Interventions:
5a. Data on any efforts, past or ongoing, to reduce the time burden of
inbox management and blood result processing—like automation, streamlined
communication, or policy changes.

I'd really appreciate any existing reports, analyses, or raw data that
cover these points, ideally broken down by healthcare setting (e.g.,
hospitals vs. GP practices) and level of seniority. I'm particularly
interested in any studies or assessments the Ministry of Health or
District Health Boards have done on these issues.

Thanks so much for your time and help with this request. Please let me
know if you need any more details.

Yours faithfully,
Elliot Hawthorne

 

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hide quoted sections

Tēnā koe Elliot,
 
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) to the Ministry of Health-Manatū Hauora on 4 November 2024. 
 
Your request asks for information which is more closely connected with the
functions of Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora). For this reason, the
Ministry has decided to transfer your request to Health New Zealand  under
section 14(b)(ii) of the Act. You can expect a response from their agency
in due course. Their contact email is: [1][email address].  
Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [2][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.  
Ngā mihi   

OIA Services Team

Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health

M[3]inistry of Health information releases 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Elliot Hawthorne <[FOI #29047 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 7 November 2024 12:36
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Time Wasted on Blood Test
Results and Inbox Management
 
Dear Ministry of Health,

I'm just following up on the Official Information Act request I sent on
4th of November about the time healthcare professionals spend on blood
test result management and inbox tasks in New Zealand. I haven't heard
back yet and was wondering if my original request was received.

If the Ministry of Health isn't the right place for this request, could
you please forward it to Te Whatu Ora and the Primary Health Organisation?

Please let me know if you need any more information from me.

Yours faithfully,
Elliot Hawthorne

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #29047 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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References

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mailto:[email address]
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mailto:[email address]
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4. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Tēnā koe, 

 

Thank you for contacting Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora. This is an automatic
reply to confirm that we have received your email.  Depending on the
nature of your request you may not receive a response for up to 20 working
days.  We will try to respond to your query as quickly as possible.

 

 

Ngā mihi

 

Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora.

Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use,
disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have
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delete this message