Better Sooner More Convenient Primary Care - New Zealand Doctor

Laboratory
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that GPs and primary care nurses are referring some
patients that may be able to be safely managed within primary care without referral for
investigations.
While there has been relative stability in year on year cost for laboratory services, there is an
overall (small) increase. Despite this, there is evidence to show that some laboratory
procedures and tests are duplicated unnecessarily leading us to believe that further efficiency
can be gained.
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Annual variance in laboratory costs – total DHB
Year Laboratory $ Increase
(decrease) for year
% increase
(decrease) for year
2005/2006 $1,148m - -
2006/2007 $1.336m $218k 19%
2007/2008 $1.186m ($150k) (11.2%)
2008/2009 $1.193m $130k 10.9%
Change over 3 yrs $45k 3.9%
Annual variance in laboratory costs – PHO only (from PPP)
Year Laboratory $ Increase
(decrease) for year
% increase
(decrease) for year
2005/2006 $678k
2006/2007 $680k $2k 0.3%
2007/2008 $732k $52k 7.7%
2008/2009 $650k ($82k) (11.2%)
On the basis of preliminary investigations it is believed that there are opportunities for process
improvement through the streamlining of referral systems, achieving a reduction in the type and
quality of referral procedures and avoiding unnecessary or wasted expenditure on repeat
laboratory testing.
PHO Performance programme data on the West Coast PHO share of the national expenditure
using a needs-based population formula, based on the enrolled population, for the period ending
30 September 2010, was significantly lower than the national average at 46.76 (performance
target