As many Canadian health policy researchers have noted, the veto power of the provincial medical associations constitutes a substantial constraint on what Canadian governments can and cannot do in health policy. So, imagine a very similar system in which this constraint is absent. In New Zealand, organized medicine has not traditionally played a strong formal role in health policy processes. There are many recent examples of major policy change in New Zealand in which organized medicine did not play a large role in formulation, and could not block the features of the policy that may have adverse implications for their constituents. In this context, it is worth asking whether New Zealand has had any more success in advancing health policy projects such as primary care reform that may be unsettling for medical interests.

In this seminar, Tenbensel explores the story of New Zealand’s primary care reforms since 2001 – its successes and its unfulfilled expectations, its effects on medical and other health professions, and the lessons from this experience that may be applicable to other jurisdictions. The New Zealand primary health care reform story is one that clearly demonstrates the importance of implementation processes, and the need for policymakers to understand what work is necessary after policy decisions are made.

Tim Tenbensel 

Associate Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland

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