Improvement Programmes in NZ

Over the last 5-10 years, a number of healthcare quality improvement programmes have been developed or applied within New Zealand. This section will collate outlines of key programmes and examples from around the country.

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National Quality Improvement Programmes

The NZ Quality Improvement Committee (QIC) developed a series of initiatives in 2007 with subsequent development and implementation of the programmes devolved to lead DHBs and the Ministry over the last few years.

Optimising-the-Patient-JourThe following links will take you to the Quality Improvement Committee webpage where you will find descriptions and further information about each of the following projects.


Breakthrough Series Collaboratives

The Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BTS) is an evidence-based quality improvement methodology that has been used extensively around the world in both primary and secondary healthcare settings. It was developed by Dr Don Berwick and colleagues from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and incorporates fundamental principles of quality improvement and system redesign common to all sectors, be it engineering, aviation, business or health. There was growing interest to see if this approach was as effective in New Zealand as it has been in Australia, Canada, UK and the USA so four projects from around the country were partially sponsored by the Ministry of Health over 2008-2010. Participants at a Learning Workshop

Visit the following pages for information about:

  • What is a collaborative?
  • Benefits
  • Projects in NZ
  • References for BTS Collaboratives



Aiming For Excellence

“Aiming for Excellence” is the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) standard for general practice care within New Zealand. It is designed to promote a continual quality improvement (CQI) framework that incorporates three dimensions of quality; patients, professionals and practice.

Aiming-for-ExcellenceThere are 5 sections that contain measurements to provide guidance for practice teams to identify the right environment for patients:

* Factors affecting patients

* Physical factors affecting the practice

* Practice systems

* Practice and patient information management

* Quality improvement and professional development