Rather, Tom recently attended the national meeting of the New Zealand Association of General Surgeons held this year in Tauranga. Surgeons throughout the country attended this weekend-long meeting for continuing medical education and to learn about current trends and issues facing New Zealand's health care system. I tagged along for another chance to continue my education about this beautiful coastal town.
The meeting kicked off with an address by New Zealand's Minister of Health. The Honorable Tony Ryall's speech was a definite highlight, and I felt fortunate to hear him speak, too. He described a number of governmental health priorities, initiatives and statistics. Among his comments:
• Half of New Zealand's national deficit is due to health care costs.
• Last year 1/2 of all new government spending went to healthcare.
• The Ministry of Health has pledged to decrease bureaucracy by cutting its workforce by 1 in 8 in order to increase funding for patient care.
• There is a push to increase the number of medical students by 200 trainees; 16% of medical students go into general surgery.
• 2009 enjoyed the largest ever annual increase in waiting list patients receiving elective surgery.
• Goals include improving acute care to increase long-awaited elective surgeries.
The Minister of Health joined conference attendees and guests for Friday night's festivities which included a terrific barbecue at a local winery.
Somehow I can't imagine any of Obama's cabinet members riding our bus to the winery and sharing a glass of wine with the masses.
It is interesting to hear more of the differences between the health care systems of NZ and the US. I wonder if all of these new health care bills will make the US more like NZ?
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I wonder what percentage of the physician population comes from out of the country.
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