News & blogs

6 May 2026

Credibility is built on relationships

Justin Butcher writes about what it actually takes to make progress in rural primary care, and why trust, experience and relationships are at the centre.

2 April 2026

Rising fuel costs adding to pressure in rural communities

22 October 2024

Summertime locum grant

The summertime locum grant was established to help ease the pressure some rural practices face during the peak holiday season such as an influx of patients and the increased costs in attracting and accommodating locums during these peak periods. 

14 August 2024

New Extended Care Paramedic service supports primary care in Northern Coromandel

A new Extended Care Paramedic (ECP) initiative has been launched in Northern Coromandel in response to community-identified health needs developed through locality planning and partnerships.

7 May 2024

Pinnacle rejects 50 per cent telehealth claim

Pinnacle strongly disagrees with claims by Te Whatu Ora at a Building the Future of Health webinar series on Tuesday 7 May that up to 50 per cent of general practice work could be done by telehealth.

19 September 2022

Expression of interest: Telemonitoring in rural general practice

15 COPD and CHF remote patient monitoring kits for the Tunstell telemonitoring pilot were approved and purchased by RRAG. With the pilot now finished we will be gifting this equipment by way of EOI.

19 July 2022

Rural accelerated chest pain pathway signals the future for primary care

Ongoing use of the Pinnacle rural accelerated chest pain pathway by general practices has highlighted how point of care testing can improve health equity in rural communities, and reduce hospital referrals to overloaded emergency departments.

25 April 2022

30 years serving the community

For the past three decades, Kāwhia’s medical needs have been serviced by Dr John Burton and wife Sue, a qualified medical lab technician. Credit: Brianna Stewart, King Country News