Vol 136 No 1574: 28 April 2023

Optimal trauma care delivers cost savings: the New Zealand Trauma Network experience

The nature of healthcare delivery in New Zealand means that it is often difficult to quantitate the financial benefits to the system for any quality improvement initiative. Trauma is an exception in that it is not only provided by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) on a bulk-funded basis for prehospital and acute care but also on a fee-for-service basis for rehabilitation.

How does the HDC Code apply in the context of delays?

There is no doubt the health and disability sector is currently under significant pressure. This pressure, together with issues introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been reflected in an unprecedented increase in complaints to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC).

Aotearoa New Zealand emergency ambulance services and the provision of end-of-life care: a short survey

As the population of Aotearoa New Zealand ages over the next 20 years, total annual deaths are expected to increase by 40–50%. About 70–80% of people aged 70 years and over have at least one emergency department (ED) encounter during the last 6 months of their life and hospitals remain the single most common place of death for this group.

PATHA’s vision for transgender healthcare under the current health reforms

Timely access to appropriate gender-affirming care reduces health inequities faced by transgender people, which could result in lower health costs for this population across individuals’ lifespans.

Genetic discrimination by insurance companies in Aotearoa New Zealand: experiences and views of health professionals

Genetic discrimination (GD) is defined as “differential treatment of asymptomatic individuals or their relatives on the basis of real or assumed genetic differences or characteristics”. GD in insurance underwriting is a significant clinical, research and consumer issue.

A review of trauma laparotomy at Christchurch Hospital

Trauma is one of the leading causes for years of life lost in New Zealand and disproportionately affects younger age groups. In 2021, Accident Compensation Corporation’s (ACC) annual public health acute services costs alone were $578 million NZD, with total expenditure of key claims totalling $8.7 billion.

Food security during nuclear winter: a preliminary agricultural sector analysis for Aotearoa New Zealand

The survival of human civilisation, or its continued flourishing, could be threatened by a global catastrophe abruptly reducing sunlight reaching the earth. Such scenarios could include nuclear winter arising from a nuclear war, large volcanic eruptions, and a large asteroid/comet impact.

Constraints on medication-based inflammatory bowel disease therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand —why medication adherence is important

In New Zealand, the yearly cumulative direct and indirect (loss of productivity etc.) costs of IBD amounted to approximately $245 million NZD, as at 2017, and costs are likely to have risen since then with increased prevalence and general economic inflation.

Multiple diabetes autoantibodies following an episode of acute pancreatitis

The quantification of islet autoantibodies is routine in the investigation of possible autoimmune diabetes. These antibodies are present in the majority of people with type 1 diabetes but are rarely encountered in other diabetes types.

Vaping in Aotearoa New Zealand teens remains problematic: stronger regulations and education warranted

E-cigarette use (vaping) by Aotearoa New Zealand youth continues to trend upwards. Vapes are promoted in Aotearoa New Zealand as a less harmful source of nicotine for current smokers who have unsuccessfully attempted to quit. However, non-smokers face increased risks if they begin to vape.

Prehabilitation for patients with cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand

Historically, rest and outright inactivity were recommended for patients with cancer. However, over the last two decades research has highlighted the benefits of physical activity during the cancer continuum, so much so that the American College of Sports Medicine is running an ‘Exercise Is Medicine’ initiative.

Inclusion of ethnicity in Special Authority criteria improves access to medications for Māori and Pacific peoples with type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) now affects approximately 300,000 people in Aotearoa New Zealand, of whom at least two-thirds will likely die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or renal disease (CVRD). Unfortunately, T2D creates some of the greatest inequities for Māori and Pacific peoples and the shorter life expectancy of Māori and Pacific peoples with T2D in New Zealand has not improved in the past 20 years.

The Spahlinger Treatment of Tuberculosis

At the end of January, 1922, I spent several days with Mons. Henri Spahlinger at Geneva. He went to no end of trouble in explaining to me the general lines on which he manufactures his serum and vaccine and, more especially, the clinical results he has obtained up to the present.

Proceedings of the Waikato Clinical Campus Research Seminar, Thursday, 16th March 2023