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Valid, transparent & fair decision-making processes for access to elective health care

Deciding who gets publicly-funded heart surgery is difficult but the use of world-class internet based software is providing a fairer system for patients.

Valid, transparent & fair decision-making processes for access to elective health care

New Zealand Health Innovation Award 2006

by Stacey Day

Deciding who gets publicly-funded heart surgery is difficult but the use of world-class internet based software is providing a fairer system for patients.

Prioritizing patients through waiting lists or a booking system is a challenge faced by all health services internationally.

New Zealand has developed a points system that includes criteria for prioritizing access to elective services. This provides a standardized decision-making system.

Criteria for prioritizing access to coronary artery bypass surgery were drafted by cardiologists and cardiac surgeons and then pre-tested and refined using the Point Wizard [1000minds] software.

Clinicians’ preferences with respect to acceptable trade-offs between the criteria were then incorporated in the points system.

The initiative is a collaboration between Point Wizard [1000minds], a developer of software for decision-making and prioritization, the New Zealand region of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Ministry of Health’s elective services prioritization team.

The software has shown there is a wide variety in the decisions made by individual doctors. The new system ensures fairness to patients by improving consistency and reliability.

Work on new or revised points systems for hip and knee replacements, vascular surgery, genaecological and infertility treatments is well underway.

The goal is to develop fully integrated prioritization processes supported by information technology.

Make the best decision, every time  

1000minds is proud to help organizations and individuals around the world improve their decision-making processes and discover customer preferences. The ‘secret spice’ behind our innovative approach is our award-winning, patented PAPRIKA method, which makes the process simple, smart and fun!  

Curious about how 1000minds can help you? Sign up for our free trial or book a demo with our friendly team today.   

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