There’s another option for those struggling to access a GP.
General Practitioners Aotearoa have said the concept of a “family doctor” is dead as the sector is crushed by rising costs, shortages, and high demands.
It can be difficult for people to get a consultation, with many clinics offering video calls instead of in-person consultations.
Southern Cross Health Insurance offers free online GP consultations for its members, the information from the appointment then going to the person’s primary GP.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Stephen Child joined Kerre Woodham to discuss the option and the struggles plaguing our crumbling health system.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood of Mornings podcast from News
Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Now, we were talking yesterday about the GP Advocacy Group
General Practitioners ALTA or saying the concept of having a
family doctor is dad gone the way of the mower.
Due to doctor shortage's increased patient load, it can be
very hard to see the same doctor every time you
need to, and it can also be increasingly difficult to
get an in person consultation. Even a video or telephone
(00:34):
appointment can be tricky in some parts of the country.
We were also discussing the cost of consultations, and a
text alerted us to the fact that Southern Cross provides
free online GP consults.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
For its members.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had no idea, despite being a Southern Cross member.
And that's what happens when you don't read your emails.
Doctor Stephen Child is the chief medical officer for the
Southern Cross Health Insurance Group. He joins me, now, very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
And good morning you Carrie.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
And you also work an ed as well, Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Not Hed? I'm a doctor at Auckland City Hospital so
worked there for almost thirty years.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Wow, okay, right, so you know about the hospital system
as well. First of all, the free consults, So if
you're a member of Southern Cross and you need to
see a GP, you don't need to see them in person.
You can just ring up the number that Southern Cross
gives you for the consult.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, we've done a joint venture with a company called
care HQ in which it provides free Tellyhealth consults in
which you can speak to a doctor via Kelly Health.
But it's linked into primary care so that consultation will
then go back to your own GP. So we're just
an adjunct to your own primary care system, but yet
it's free for all the members.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Sold things would that be good for? Like I picked
up my grandson from school a couple of weeks ago.
He was complaining of a really really sore throat. I
went and saturin and after ours urgent care because we
couldn't get him in anywhere. It turned out to be
a septic throat. He needed antibiotics and he needed powerful ones.
Would that have been able to be sorted by a
(02:14):
tele consult.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, yeah, that's the big problem, isn't it. I mean,
you you setting your reader. The problem with primary healthcare,
the problem with the healthcare system in general and internationally,
everyone's facing the same problem. And the problem is that,
you know, demand is exceeding supply and there's lots of
reasons for that. Both volume expectations and social determinants of
health are driving those volumes. But the solution is a
(02:41):
pyramid type solution. So, for example, the first step that
a person can do in New Zealand is you can
ring Healthline ROW, which is also a free line that
can triage your issue and how urgent is it ueshi?
I see. It can also give you some self care options.
The next step is telehealth, and yes, Telly Health can
(03:01):
do certain things, but they couldn't have looked down into
the throat itself, but they could have told you whether
or not you needed to have go see someone, or
maybe they could have even prescribed antibiotics depending on what
they heard. And then your face to face options are
either to go to see your GP, you go to
an A and E clinic, or unfortunately going to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
That should be the last resort.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Oh very much. So you know you said this as well.
I mean I work in the hospital system and so
I had a slightly different perspective of it. But the
problem with the deterioration of the primary healthcare system and
the fact that we've set up a system where there's
a copay to go and see your doctor, but it's
free to come into the hospital means that the hospital
(03:49):
is now getting swamped with people that really should have
been cared for in the primary care system, but they're
using the hospital as their GP. Now.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, I really feel for them, because, to be fair,
I went to the pharmacist first and said, look, he's
complaining of a sore throat. You see strip throats during
the rounds. I would really really get that checked out
by a doctor. So it was good advice from the pharmacist.
And I think pharmacists can also be used as part
of the information and part of the network of primary healthcare,
(04:20):
can't They?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Oh very much so, And that's already in train. I'm
the same thing with nurse practitioners, and pharmacists can do
some prescribing now, and pharmacists can do some testing for
blood finer medications, and so it's rejigging our whole system.
So for an individual problem, the person is going to
the right person at the right time for the right
(04:44):
care and changing the incentives at the moment the pyramid
is upside down. The cheapest and best care you can
get is to walk into the hospital. It shouldn't be
that way. You should go through a self care option,
a triage option, a telehealth option, and then go see
a health professional. It's working at the top of this
(05:05):
scope of practic this You don't need to see a
cardiothoracic surgeon just because you are eight in your tummy
or something. You know, we need to get this right.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Do you think do you think the system is slightly
a head of the consumer that we need to get
our heads around the fact we can no longer just
bring up a doctor expect to get an appointment that
same day, That we don't need to see a doctor
for everything, that we don't need antibiotics for everything. Do
we need to retrain ourselves?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Well, it's an interesting question. I mean, I've been a
doctor for thirty eight years now, and so I reflect
on musicians all the time, and I think, yes, I mean,
it's interesting. Do you look at medical school corrector there's
one hundred and seventy eight medical problems that will affect
the human body, and that hasn't really changed since the
human body was great with a grow and so what's
(05:57):
the problem now. The problem is we have now more
human bodies, if you like, than we previously had. But
also because we're living longer, people are developing more of
those conditions during their lifespan. But there is also a
huge increased expectations because we can do more now for people.
(06:18):
It's not a I mean, for example, fifty percent of
people have back pain, a third of people have indigestion,
and it's almost a normal component of the human body.
Fifty six years ago, you would have just lived with that.
Now you have an expectation that someone will fix that problem,
so you will seek medical attention for that.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
And to fix it without you putting in any effort
whatsoever to help.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
That is a huge problem, and I don't know how
you tackle that, you know, but for example, if you
have a condition like diabetes, surely there's some responsibility upon
you to make sure you take your medications, or if
you know your insulin is going to run out, you
get a prescription ahead of time so that you don't
run out of your instullin and then end up in hospital,
(07:04):
and that you educate yourself with a bit of health
literacy about your condition. I mean, I do think we
do have to get some responsibility from individuals as well
into our own healthcare.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Look, I couldn't agree more. And you know, as one
who would go for a run and couldn't be bothered
doing the stretching afterwards, some guanzia physio once a week,
you do it. You know that's just plain wrong and
lazy and stupid. I didn't need to I could do.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
It myself well. But it is a double in short. Remember,
because you know, colonization means that everyone is not equal
for a start, you know, obesity, same thing. We have
an obesogenic environment in which actually the cheapest way to
leave the hunger of your kids is to buy the
cheapest fruit. Chips and Coca Cola will alleviate their hunger
(07:53):
better than anything else and is the cheapest option to
do it. So it's not quite fair to say it's
totally you have to take full responsibility for your healthcare.
There are external factors involved going all that way, But
I am saying that it's got to be a combination
between the patient taking responsibility for their care and asking
the system to take responsibility for their care.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah to health ensurance reward people who do take some
steps towards looking after their own well being.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, well, selln Cross. I mean we're trying to help out.
We almost have a million members. It's almost like twenty
percent of New Zealand is a member of seven Cross.
And so we've developed the care HQ Telly Health. We've
got forty thousand consults on that. We offer three mental
health sessions with rays. We do an annual medical checkup
if you have certain terms and conditions. Yes, we have
(08:45):
low claim discounts, we have lifestyle rewards if you're doing
things right. We help with eye and hearing checks, etc.
You know. So we realize we want to be the
ambulance at the top of the cliff for lots of reasons.
Obviously we're our friendly society and we want to do
what's best for our members. But at the same time,
obviously in the long run, the healthier our members are,
(09:05):
the less they claim. So we want to work with
our members for everyone to be healthy.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yes, and that's the thing that we I've had so
many texts and things from listeners have paid into it
all their lives and because your young fit bucks when
you're in your twenties thirties, and forties. You know, you
never have to make a claim all of a sudden
you tune fifteen and sixty and you can't afford the
health insurance. But that's when you need to make the claims.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah, it's really really that's the problem. We as a
non insurance company or a friendly society, how do we
make ourselves, you know, irreplaceable for that twenty five year
old and thirty five year old so that they feel
they're getting something from it. We get that, But at
the same time the most important thing is that when
people need us, we are there and it seems like
(09:55):
it's working. I mean we're paying out there was six
million dollars a day how in claims, you know, and
those that do claim, I mean sometimes it can be
literally life changing for and to have the support that
they've had gotments to their major heart operation or cancer
or something like that.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
So yeah, which is great, okay. So and when it
comes to you're feeling poorly, you wake up, you're feeling poorly,
you ring health line. That could be escalated to a teleconference,
that could go to a GP and then they might
you know, if it's after ours Goonzi and after ours
(10:31):
clinic if you can afford it, and try and stay
away from the ED as much as possible. Somebody else
suggested having an oxymeter, a blood pressure cuff, and a
thermometer at home, and that should tell you pretty much
what you need before you need to go to a doctor.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yes and no, because as I said before about expectations,
you know, there is an increasingly worried well yeah, you
know because we read the media, because we read about
the you know, one in a million event that occurs
to someone. Suddenly it becomes a story on the front
page of the newspaper, and everyone thinks they have that
one in a million condition. Really, and so a little
(11:11):
bit of information can be dangerous as well. So you know,
where do you draw that line? But a common sense
is support. Calling for help when you think you have
a problem. Health line would be a nice first step
because it'll talk to you about No, probably you could
wait and see how that goes, or maybe you should
go see your GP tomorrow, or oh my gosh, no,
(11:33):
you should go see an emergency department right now. That'll
really help you know where to go and navigate you.
There's Health Navigator even, which is a website which will
also give you information so you can kind of do
your own research and get some ideas and then go
to the telehealth options, especially if you're Southern Cross. It's free,
but there's also financial providers of telehealth services that you
(11:54):
can try as well.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Brilliant and stay away from the ED unless you absolutely
have to. Lovely to talk doctor Stephen Child, chief Medical
Office of Southern Cross Health Insurance.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
For more from Kerry Wood and more, listen live to
News Talks at B from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Carrywood of Mornings podcast from News
Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Now, we were talking yesterday about the GP Advocacy Group
General Practitioners ALTA or saying the concept of having a
family doctor is dad gone the way of the mower.
Due to doctor shortage's increased patient load, it can be
very hard to see the same doctor every time you
need to, and it can also be increasingly difficult to
get an in person consultation. Even a video or telephone
(00:34):
appointment can be tricky in some parts of the country.
We were also discussing the cost of consultations, and a
text alerted us to the fact that Southern Cross provides
free online GP consults.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
For its members.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had no idea, despite being a Southern Cross member.
And that's what happens when you don't read your emails.
Doctor Stephen Child is the chief medical officer for the
Southern Cross Health Insurance Group. He joins me, now, very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
And good morning you Carrie.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
And you also work an ed as well, Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Not Hed? I'm a doctor at Auckland City Hospital so
worked there for almost thirty years.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Wow, okay, right, so you know about the hospital system
as well. First of all, the free consults, So if
you're a member of Southern Cross and you need to
see a GP, you don't need to see them in person.
You can just ring up the number that Southern Cross
gives you for the consult.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, we've done a joint venture with a company called
care HQ in which it provides free Tellyhealth consults in
which you can speak to a doctor via Kelly Health.
But it's linked into primary care so that consultation will
then go back to your own GP. So we're just
an adjunct to your own primary care system, but yet
it's free for all the members.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Sold things would that be good for? Like I picked
up my grandson from school a couple of weeks ago.
He was complaining of a really really sore throat. I
went and saturin and after ours urgent care because we
couldn't get him in anywhere. It turned out to be
a septic throat. He needed antibiotics and he needed powerful ones.
Would that have been able to be sorted by a
(02:14):
tele consult.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, yeah, that's the big problem, isn't it. I mean,
you you setting your reader. The problem with primary healthcare,
the problem with the healthcare system in general and internationally,
everyone's facing the same problem. And the problem is that,
you know, demand is exceeding supply and there's lots of
reasons for that. Both volume expectations and social determinants of
health are driving those volumes. But the solution is a
(02:41):
pyramid type solution. So, for example, the first step that
a person can do in New Zealand is you can
ring Healthline ROW, which is also a free line that
can triage your issue and how urgent is it ueshi?
I see. It can also give you some self care options.
The next step is telehealth, and yes, Telly Health can
(03:01):
do certain things, but they couldn't have looked down into
the throat itself, but they could have told you whether
or not you needed to have go see someone, or
maybe they could have even prescribed antibiotics depending on what
they heard. And then your face to face options are
either to go to see your GP, you go to
an A and E clinic, or unfortunately going to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
That should be the last resort.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Oh very much. So you know you said this as well.
I mean I work in the hospital system and so
I had a slightly different perspective of it. But the
problem with the deterioration of the primary healthcare system and
the fact that we've set up a system where there's
a copay to go and see your doctor, but it's
free to come into the hospital means that the hospital
(03:49):
is now getting swamped with people that really should have
been cared for in the primary care system, but they're
using the hospital as their GP. Now.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, I really feel for them, because, to be fair,
I went to the pharmacist first and said, look, he's
complaining of a sore throat. You see strip throats during
the rounds. I would really really get that checked out
by a doctor. So it was good advice from the pharmacist.
And I think pharmacists can also be used as part
of the information and part of the network of primary healthcare,
(04:20):
can't They?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Oh very much so, And that's already in train. I'm
the same thing with nurse practitioners, and pharmacists can do
some prescribing now, and pharmacists can do some testing for
blood finer medications, and so it's rejigging our whole system.
So for an individual problem, the person is going to
the right person at the right time for the right
(04:44):
care and changing the incentives at the moment the pyramid
is upside down. The cheapest and best care you can
get is to walk into the hospital. It shouldn't be
that way. You should go through a self care option,
a triage option, a telehealth option, and then go see
a health professional. It's working at the top of this
(05:05):
scope of practic this You don't need to see a
cardiothoracic surgeon just because you are eight in your tummy
or something. You know, we need to get this right.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Do you think do you think the system is slightly
a head of the consumer that we need to get
our heads around the fact we can no longer just
bring up a doctor expect to get an appointment that
same day, That we don't need to see a doctor
for everything, that we don't need antibiotics for everything. Do
we need to retrain ourselves?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Well, it's an interesting question. I mean, I've been a
doctor for thirty eight years now, and so I reflect
on musicians all the time, and I think, yes, I mean,
it's interesting. Do you look at medical school corrector there's
one hundred and seventy eight medical problems that will affect
the human body, and that hasn't really changed since the
human body was great with a grow and so what's
(05:57):
the problem now. The problem is we have now more
human bodies, if you like, than we previously had. But
also because we're living longer, people are developing more of
those conditions during their lifespan. But there is also a
huge increased expectations because we can do more now for people.
(06:18):
It's not a I mean, for example, fifty percent of
people have back pain, a third of people have indigestion,
and it's almost a normal component of the human body.
Fifty six years ago, you would have just lived with that.
Now you have an expectation that someone will fix that problem,
so you will seek medical attention for that.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
And to fix it without you putting in any effort
whatsoever to help.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
That is a huge problem, and I don't know how
you tackle that, you know, but for example, if you
have a condition like diabetes, surely there's some responsibility upon
you to make sure you take your medications, or if
you know your insulin is going to run out, you
get a prescription ahead of time so that you don't
run out of your instullin and then end up in hospital,
(07:04):
and that you educate yourself with a bit of health
literacy about your condition. I mean, I do think we
do have to get some responsibility from individuals as well
into our own healthcare.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Look, I couldn't agree more. And you know, as one
who would go for a run and couldn't be bothered
doing the stretching afterwards, some guanzia physio once a week,
you do it. You know that's just plain wrong and
lazy and stupid. I didn't need to I could do.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
It myself well. But it is a double in short. Remember,
because you know, colonization means that everyone is not equal
for a start, you know, obesity, same thing. We have
an obesogenic environment in which actually the cheapest way to
leave the hunger of your kids is to buy the
cheapest fruit. Chips and Coca Cola will alleviate their hunger
(07:53):
better than anything else and is the cheapest option to
do it. So it's not quite fair to say it's
totally you have to take full responsibility for your healthcare.
There are external factors involved going all that way, But
I am saying that it's got to be a combination
between the patient taking responsibility for their care and asking
the system to take responsibility for their care.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah to health ensurance reward people who do take some
steps towards looking after their own well being.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, well, selln Cross. I mean we're trying to help out.
We almost have a million members. It's almost like twenty
percent of New Zealand is a member of seven Cross.
And so we've developed the care HQ Telly Health. We've
got forty thousand consults on that. We offer three mental
health sessions with rays. We do an annual medical checkup
if you have certain terms and conditions. Yes, we have
(08:45):
low claim discounts, we have lifestyle rewards if you're doing
things right. We help with eye and hearing checks, etc.
You know. So we realize we want to be the
ambulance at the top of the cliff for lots of reasons.
Obviously we're our friendly society and we want to do
what's best for our members. But at the same time,
obviously in the long run, the healthier our members are,
(09:05):
the less they claim. So we want to work with
our members for everyone to be healthy.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yes, and that's the thing that we I've had so
many texts and things from listeners have paid into it
all their lives and because your young fit bucks when
you're in your twenties thirties, and forties. You know, you
never have to make a claim all of a sudden
you tune fifteen and sixty and you can't afford the
health insurance. But that's when you need to make the claims.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah, it's really really that's the problem. We as a
non insurance company or a friendly society, how do we
make ourselves, you know, irreplaceable for that twenty five year
old and thirty five year old so that they feel
they're getting something from it. We get that, But at
the same time the most important thing is that when
people need us, we are there and it seems like
(09:55):
it's working. I mean we're paying out there was six
million dollars a day how in claims, you know, and
those that do claim, I mean sometimes it can be
literally life changing for and to have the support that
they've had gotments to their major heart operation or cancer
or something like that.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
So yeah, which is great, okay. So and when it
comes to you're feeling poorly, you wake up, you're feeling poorly,
you ring health line. That could be escalated to a teleconference,
that could go to a GP and then they might
you know, if it's after ours Goonzi and after ours
(10:31):
clinic if you can afford it, and try and stay
away from the ED as much as possible. Somebody else
suggested having an oxymeter, a blood pressure cuff, and a
thermometer at home, and that should tell you pretty much
what you need before you need to go to a doctor.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yes and no, because as I said before about expectations,
you know, there is an increasingly worried well yeah, you
know because we read the media, because we read about
the you know, one in a million event that occurs
to someone. Suddenly it becomes a story on the front
page of the newspaper, and everyone thinks they have that
one in a million condition. Really, and so a little
(11:11):
bit of information can be dangerous as well. So you know,
where do you draw that line? But a common sense
is support. Calling for help when you think you have
a problem. Health line would be a nice first step
because it'll talk to you about No, probably you could
wait and see how that goes, or maybe you should
go see your GP tomorrow, or oh my gosh, no,
(11:33):
you should go see an emergency department right now. That'll
really help you know where to go and navigate you.
There's Health Navigator even, which is a website which will
also give you information so you can kind of do
your own research and get some ideas and then go
to the telehealth options, especially if you're Southern Cross. It's free,
but there's also financial providers of telehealth services that you
(11:54):
can try as well.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Brilliant and stay away from the ED unless you absolutely
have to. Lovely to talk doctor Stephen Child, chief Medical
Office of Southern Cross Health Insurance.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
For more from Kerry Wood and more, listen live to
News Talks at B from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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