Measuring health system performance: A new approach to accountability and quality improvement in New Zealand

Abstract

In February 2014, the New Zealand Ministry of Health released a new framework for measuring the performance of the New Zealand health system. The two key aims are to strengthen accountability to taxpayers and to lift the performance of the system's component parts using a 'whole-of-system' approach to performance measurement. Development of this new framework--called the Integrated Performance and Incentive Framework (IPIF)--was stimulated by a need for a performance management framework which reflects the health system as a whole, which encourages primary and secondary providers to work towards the same end, and which incorporates the needs and priorities of local communities. Measures within the IPIF will be set at two levels: the system level, where measures are set nationally, and the local district level, where measures which contribute towards the system level indicators will be selected by local health alliances. In the first year, the framework applies only at the system level and only to primary health care services. It will continue to be developed over time and will gradually be extended to cover a wide range of health and disability services. The success of the IPIF in improving health sector performance depends crucially on the willingness of health sector personnel to engage closely with the measurement process.

Keywords: Health system; New Zealand; Performance measurement; Quality improvement; Whole-of-system performance.