Ka Ora Telehealth

Throughout the last few months, Pinnacle and Ka Ora have been contacting rural practices to provide information, and to support those practices that have already switched to the service to integrate it with practice after-hours routines. Practice feedback has been positive. Ka Ora has provided thorough support for the switch over, had the ability to scale-up over the Christmas period, and has provided responsive support to practice queries.   Pinnacle has reviewed the range of telehealth after-hours services across rural practices in our network. In an effort to reduce duplication of funding, and in light of the positive feedback about the Ka Ora service, the decision has been made to withdraw from investing further in Whakarongorau/HML services, and instead to help shift practices to Ka Ora.    The Whakarongorau/HML contract will end on 30 June 2024.   Practices are encouraged to engage with and switch to Ka Ora by the end of May 2024. We expect this process to be a straightforward, however it will require practices to provide Ka Ora with information about their practice services and after-hours care.    Practices also have the option to self-fund alternative after-hours telehealth arrangements with a provider of their choice, however this will not be subsidised by Pinnacle. Arrangements for in-person out-of-hours remains business-as-usual.   To make the switch Please contact Ka Ora (0800 2 KA ORA / 0800 252 672) for further details or complete the onboarding form and they’ll get back to you. Pātai / questions? For any further pātai, concerns, or problems with the process please contact: Katie Latimer, General Manager - Strategic Development Katie.Latimer@pinnacle.health.nz

Te Whatu Ora is funding Ka Ora, a comprehensive telehealth service, for rural practices. The service is part of a push to reduce barriers for rural communities to access primary care.