Primary care health data
Accurate, timely, and well managed data flows help make sure people get the care they need, when they need it.
Why data matters for primary care
In primary care, data flows within primary care itself and outside of a primary care setting. This data:
- helps people understand their own care
- helps clinicians access the information that they need to support a persons’ care
- allows planners to target investment to improve people's healthcare experiences and health outcomes
- provides better coordination of care.
Better data informs planning and funding decisions. It also underpins clinical care, like sharing patient records between health services. All of this makes it easier for providers to coordinate services and support people through different parts of the health system.
Data sets for performance and planning
We work with the primary care sector to access data from primary healthcare settings. This data may be related to a service we fund primary health organisation (PHOs) to deliver. Or it could be data we hold on behalf of the person receiving care from our services, such as hospitals.
We may use these datasets to:
- help plan services that meet people’s needs
- improve the care to people
- track our investments in these services.
To enable these datasets, we enter into information sharing agreements (ISAs) with providers. This may be within contracts for services or separately. These agreements set out:
- what information is shared
- how it is shared
- for what purpose it is shared
- how it is protected
- how it can be used, including by us and also the use of Health NZ data by others.
We are working with primary health organisations (PHOs) to move to one master ISA to cover all these things. This ISA will have a strong focus on the legal basis for sharing, as well as things such as privacy and security of people's health information.
Alongside performance and planning data, some datasets are also available to researchers, providers, and the public. This is for their own use within strict ethical and other approval processes.
The data sets are supported by our data governance group, as well as within the various delegated authorities that underpin our structure.
All data and information sharing activities follow relevant legislation, including the:
- Privacy Act
- Health Information Privacy Code
- Official Information Act.
The government has supported a large increase in capitation funding this year, associated with a greater focus on outcomes and performance.
Achieving this will require robust, nationally consistent data for primary care. This data will support ongoing monitoring, planning, and service improvement across the health system.
We plan to support this approach with the creation of the NPCD. The dataset will start with the information needed to measure and track the new primary care health target. It will expand to more domains for general practice.
These data sets and collections are used to inform some of the primary care measures and targets we publish information on.
Health targets
The health targets support the delivery of better health outcomes for New Zealanders and improve the performance of our health services. These are published and reported on quarterly.
The below health targets relate directly to primary care.
Improved immunisation for tamariki
This aims for 95% of tamariki to be fully immunised at 24 months of age by 2030.
Improved timely access to primary care
The Government announced plans to develop a new health target to improve timely access to primary care from 1 July 2026.
Strengthening primary care to better meet patient needs — Beehive.govt.nzexternal link
This target will be developed in consultation with the primary care sector. It is proposed to make sure that by 2030 more than 80% of people can see a primary care provider within 1 week.
An advisory group will include representatives from PHOs and general practices (GPs) to provide advice on the design and implementation of the health target. Its role is to provide advice to Health NZ and the Ministry of Health on how the target is defined and implemented, including the development of balancing measures.
A governance group is being established under the PHO Services Agreement Amendment Protocol (PSAAP) process. It has a formal role in overseeing the data framework for the primary care national dataset. This includes how data is defined, extracted, and reported. The group will include representatives from Health NZ, GPs, PHOs, and patients.
Implementation will follow a phased approach.
- Confirm the target definition, governance arrangements and initial data framework.
- Test and refine reporting, establish the national repository, and prepare for implementation on 1 July 2026.
- Expand the dataset over time to include a wider set of measures for system improvement.
System level measures (SLMs)
The 2025/26 PHO SLM measures include 2-year-old immunisation and ASH. PHOs develop improvement plans with their community providers to deliver improvements. Funding is made available to PHOs for the planning and improvement activity, as well as performance related to the 2-year-old immunisation rates.
Primary care indicators
Reported quarterly to reflect how PHOs and practices are supporting their populations. Current indicators include:
- childhood immunisation — 8 and 24 months
- smoking cessation support
- general practice enrolment availability — closed books.
Performance capitation
At times, new measures are introduced in response to service needs. For example, on 1 July 2025, up to $30 million in performance-based funding was made available to GPs that improve their 6-week immunisation rates. This recognises it as a key milestone for achieving the immunisation health target.
Other data reporting
Another example of the kinds of data we report on is the performance related data and reporting we publish in relation to service delivery. Such as how well the new Online GP Care service is supporting greater access to GP care.
Data services for sharing clinical information between health services
We are developing the Shared Digital Health Record. It is a clinical data connector that gives healthcare providers a more complete picture of a person's health information, wherever they are in the country.
GPs can choose if they want to take part in the new data services. Individuals will be able to opt-out if they choose not to have their information shared. There will be rigorous systems in place to make sure people’s privacy is respected.
In phase one, we are working with primary care providers who choose to take part, to collect and share read-only versions of core patient data. We are currently undertaking a series of focus groups with GPs, looking at:
- participation
- roles and responsibilities
- privacy
- consent
- control
- as well as understanding the support needed to implement the new data sharing service.
Engagement with consumers about the service is also underway.
Additionally, HealthOne is carrying out work with PHOs to expand into the lower North Island, along with its current availability in the South Island. HealthOne, like other shared electronic health record service providers, will be able to onboard to the national SDHR once it is available.
Data processes and flows
Sometimes the information GPs will share with us for the SDHR will be the same information they have shared with us for our datasets and collections — but the data for datasets and collections is often anonymised. This means that while we might be extracting the same information, there will be 2 separate data gathering processes.
We are exploring the creation of one ISA with a series of schedules for the different data purposes.
Over time, we want to work with the sector to explore how the NPCD could evolve into a single, consistent source of primary care information and supporting data gathering processes.
In the meantime, this is what the data flow process will look like for the 2 different purposes.
Data for planning and performance
- Primary care practice management systems and data sources.
- ISAs and data governance groups in place.
- Data gathering.
- Health NZ data set and collection development (NPCD in development).
- Health targets and balancing measures.
National primary care dataset — planning, funding and monitoring.
Sharing datasets and collections with primary care as agreed.
Clinical notes for sharing between health services
- Primary care practice management systems and data sources.
- Data gathering.
- Shared Digital Health Record (in development).
- Shared electronic health record.
- Clinical health services, such as ambulance, hospitals, urgent care and online GPs.