patients

During the transition period our call centre has been taking very high volumes of calls as patients and practices seek help settling into the new service.

Today was our first day of service in the Auckland DHB area, and once again I’m very comfortable with the way the transition is progressing. It’s been a good start to the Auckland handover, with no significant issues reported on any aspect of the service.

We always welcome feedback from doctors and patients about the Labtests service, particularly during the transition period. Hearing your questions and comments helps us understand what you need to know and resolve any issues you may be experiencing.

An observational study carried out by influenza investigators in New Zealand and Australia has shown that most patients who experienced respiratory failure after contracting influenza A (H1N1), and who were treated with a type of life support that adds oxygen to the blood, survived the disease.

Suggestions that lengthy patient queues in Labtests’ collection centres are caused by Labtests not getting the Diagnostic Medlab (DML) doctor database are nothing more than a smokescreen for poor performance, says the chief executive of DML, Arthur Morris.

The transfer to the Labtests laboratory of the Auckland DHB caseload this week has seen the number of patient requests moving through the lab double from around 2500 to 5000 a day.

Accusations that Diagnostic Medlab (DML) is monitoring queues in Labtests Auckland’s collection centres is laughable and smacks of desperation, says the chief executive of DML, Arthur Morris.

Hawkes Bay specialist general practitioner Dr Peter Foley has been re-elected as Chairman of the New Zealand Medical Association for a second term.

Diagnostic Medlab says the number of patients choosing to pay for their laboratory tests has grown rapidly over the past month.

Some recent reports show good progress is being made with recent primary health care reforms in New Zealand, but there are still challenges ahead.