Primary health care nurses
Currently, nurses at all three levels of registration (ie nurse practitioner (NP), registered nurse (RN) and enrolled nurse (EN)) practise in general practice at a level in keeping with their education and training.
In some cases, it is more appropriate for health care to be delivered by a primary care nurse working in general practice, rather than a GP. First Contact Funding to PHOs includes a Practice Nurse Subsidy.
The development of some services delivered through PHOs such as Care Plus, have enabled more effective use of nursing skills. The alliances established by Health NZ with PHOs will allow for more flexible use of PHO funding and more effective use of the skills of nurses in general practices.
If you are a casual patient (not enrolled at the practice you are attending) and a nurse sees you, they can make a claim towards the cost of the consultation from Health NZ and you may still incur a co-payment.