Katikati Medical Centre

02/07/2025

Why oh why doesn’t the government invest in general practice where there are PROVEN positive outcomes?

Telehealth becomes Telewealth….

https://genpro.org.nz/resources/general-practice-amazed-at-governments-cash-splurge-on-telehealth?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLRqTRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlYs1kC3VGiKtha6prOZfG_M18A6fImX71x6UR-V6qUTSGuH7knpc3kos67n_aem_Nj8muR3iJww-zJQLXm3sgg

Back to News General practice amazed at Government’s cash splurge on telehealth July 01, 2025 Angus Chambers Funding Share on The General Practice Owners Association is calling foul at the huge difference between government funding for screen-based telehealth compared to face-to-face visits to com...

30/06/2025

We have had a couple of GP appointments become available this afternoon, please phone our reception team to book 549 0411.

30/06/2025

PATIENT CO-PAYMENTS

On July 1 we will be increasing our patient copayments. These increases will be for consultations, writing referrals and for procedures.

The increase is under the level of health inflation (health inflation is the rising cost of providing medical care, which is substantially higher than overall inflation), but we recognise that it will still be a significant rise for some.

Our pricing is still favourable compared to the average GP consult in the Bay of Plenty which is over $60. We know that practices in Waihi charge differently, but they are “very low cost access” practices. They receive much more government funding on the agreement that their fees stay low. No practices can sign up to be “very low cost access” now.

We will be investing the proceeds into the recruitment and retention of staff. This will allow us to expand our premises and to continue to provide a full breadth of services, but in a more timely way. We have a new doctor starting in September this year and, hopefully, another starting in March 2026.

We pride ourselves on paying our staff a fair wage and ensuring that they have access to training to keep their skills sharp and to develop new interests. This will result in ongoing excellent patient care and a better patient experience.

See https://www.katimed.co.nz/fees/ for further information

26/06/2025

NEW ENROLMENTS

Very pleasingly, we now have some capacity for enrolments. Please speak to reception if you would like to enrol. Enrolments will be on a first come first served basis for those living in our catchment area. If the demand is too high the books may well close again pending our new doctor starting.

Please be aware that there can still be long wait times for routine issues, but we are hoping that these will ease in September when our new doctor starts.

05/06/2025

Sharing from Te Whatu Ora -Social Media Diabetes Scam

Kia ora

Please be aware that there is a scam currently appearing on multiple social media platforms, relating to diabetes medication.

We’re very concerned at the health risks for patients, not to mention the financial impact. Your help in raising awareness of this scam with your health providers and your patient community would be greatly appreciated.

Images and video footage of Professor Rinki Murphy, a diabetes expert at Health NZ and Professor of Medicine at University of Auckland, are being used on social media to promote fake products. The material is sufficiently convincing for dozens of people to have contacted Professor Murphy, saying they have stopped taking their regular medication and sent money for various products to cure diabetes or to lose weight.

This type of health scam, which is becoming increasingly common, uses artificial intelligence to create deepfake videos of doctors, especially those who also do research. The doctor’s reputation is used to deceive and persuade people into buying scam products online.

Some of the videos say things like “buy this 5 second method”, “take this cure for 27 days” or “these pills are NOT sold in pharmacies” or “Click here to find out more” – phrases like these are red flags.

We recommend that patients talk to their healthcare team before buying any health product online. They should never stop taking their regular diabetes medications, unless they have consulted with their medical team.

If you are aware of people who have been harmed or lost money in this way, please report the scam to NZ Police.

Ngā mihi nui | Kind regards,

Prof Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard (she/her)

01/06/2025

There’s lots of Covid around at the moment! If you are due a booster please get one.

Get your Flu vax too.

21/05/2025

TVNZ interview this morning.

General Practice wants to prove timely and great care to our patients. Current funding makes that hard. We don’t want patients to have to pay more for their care. Let’s hope today’s Budget is a positive one for primary care.

21/05/2025

What are you doing tomorrow morning?

If you are awake shortly after 6am, Dr Vicky Jones will be back on TVNZ Breakfast.

She will be talking about all things health whilst we prepare ourselves for the Budget (and the increase we desperately need to see in primary health care spending….)

20/05/2025

We are having phone issues. The problem is at the providers end. They are looking into it. Sorry!!!

17/04/2025

EASTER HOURS

A reminder that we close on Good Friday.
We are open for emergencies Saturday, Sunday and Easter Monday from 830am-midday.

30/03/2025

Our team has been highly affected by Fridays event. Please be kind as we navigate this challenging time. Our aroha are with the whanau. Kia kaha.

28/03/2025

Alert. The medical centre is closed due to an incident.