The data blind spot weakening New Zealand’s health system

NZ Herald
6 November, 2025

When Canadian doctors received reports comparing their prescribing practices with those of their peers, antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory infections decreased. No new rules. No penalties. Just actionable feedback.

It worked because Canada has a national system for extracting and standardising general practice data for quality improvement and research. Clinicians led in establishing the system and privacy was built in from the start.

To read the full article on the NZ Herald website, click here.

Stay in the loop: Subscribe to updates