The Community Radiology Service provides diagnostic imaging services funded by Health New Zealand for individuals referred by community-based practitioners. The National Work Programme for the Government’s $30 million annual investment into the provision of a consistent community referred radiology programme is well underway.
The intent of the programme is to provide better access to diagnostic radiology so that people get a diagnosis and a decision on the right treatment sooner. Improved access to timely and effective radiology is critical to providing high quality care, reducing waiting times for treatment and improving outcomes. This initiative is part of a wider programme of work to improve and align radiology services across New Zealand.
Health New Zealand recognises the new national criteria will mean a change to access for many referring primary care practitioners. However, the aim of the programme is to address the inconsistency of access so that patients can have equal and timely access to radiology services across the country. There is dedicated resource to support change management, improved data capability, digital interfacing and clinical leadership as well as funding any additional demand.
With access to diagnostic imaging, community and primary healthcare providers can make better decisions about where to refer patients next, or whether they can provide care closer to home. Patients benefit by getting definitive answers quickly, rather than awaiting a hospital specialist for an imaging referral. This is a prime example of an initiative to bring health services closer to communities, provide consistent and quality care to Kiwis no matter where in New Zealand they live, and prioritising funding where it will have the greatest impact.
The national work plan projects a fully implemented, consistent community referred radiology programme to be in place from July 2026.
To ensure consistent clinically appropriate access and effective use of resources, Health New Zealand has developed national criteria and wait times. These are managed by local triage hubs and designed to:
The new criteria will allow General Practitioners, Urgent Care Doctors, and Nurse Practitioners to refer patients directly for imaging without a specialist assessment or emergency department referral.
Imaging references across the Community HealthPathways platform align with these criteria and as well, the criteria will be published in the Radiology pages under HealthPathways Investigations.
Phased roll-out will involve levelling-up access across the motu for some modalities (CT, US, and X-ray) and exams before others.
Unlike other localisable aspects of national HealthPathways (as consistent access nationally is a primary objective of the Community Referred Radiology programme) these national criteria are not intended to be modified locally although the ‘how’ and ‘where’ may be adapted to reflect the variability of local service models and resource availability.
Community referred radiology that meets these criteria will be free for patients to access, to eliminate any financial barriers. Where copayments existed, these have now been removed.
Health New Zealand recognises the new national criteria will mean a change to access for many referring primary care practitioners. However, the aim of the programme is to address the inconsistency of access so that patients can have equal and timely access to radiology services across the country.
Four Regional Community Referred Radiology hubs will be established to manage effective use of resources and timely access.
Community Referred Radiology hubs will play a critical role in moderating any new demand for radiology services and be managed by Primary Care liaison officers to triage referrals against clinical criteria.
Community Referred Radiology hubs will:
Digital solutions to ensure referrers are interfaced with Health New Zealand systems are being implemented. The priority is to ensure community-based referrers can view current and prior imaging and reports for radiology requests made through Health New Zealand.
In addition to moving to consistent clinically appropriate access for Community Referred Radiology, the investment includes moving toward a single national Community Referred Radiology contract, removing financial and other access barriers for patients.
Organised procurement of private radiology services will ensure consistent pricing, data and reporting arrangements.
It is planned that all current agreements with third parties and PHOs will be brought in-house from 2026 and that these arrangements are renewed and included in the Hospital and Specialist Services (HSS) Panel Agreements.
Health New Zealand will begin discussions with existing providers later in 2025.
Health New Zealand is working to improve access to diagnostic radiological investigations for those who are currently experiencing lower access.
The programme is working with other funded programmes to develop an Enhanced Access service that provides an evidence-based engagement that uses health navigators to support people to access care.
Enhanced Access is adaptable to local contexts, existing workforce structures and services, and the needs of a range of populations.
Appointment of GP Radiology Liaison Region Leads for the Community Referred Radiology hubs are in progress. We will notify you when these roles have been appointed to.
In the interim, for more information contact Alex.Viner@tewhatuora.govt.nz.