CarePlus is a client-centred primary health care programme initiated by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and managed through New Zealand Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). Patients are offered four free visits annually but not everyone takes full advantage of the programme. Manaia PHO wanted to explore reasons for this and to adapt and further improve the programme. This practice project has retrospectively reviewed a survey used to determine the extent to which the implementation of Care Plus at Manaia PHO was making a difference to its client’s lives. The survey process was evaluated using a quality improvement tool known as the IHI Simple Data Collection tool (IHI, 2004). This enabled examination of the processes being used and drew attention to potential improvements in the ways data was being collected, analysed and reported. The IHI tool has also provided insight into the potential use of other methods to evaluate the CarePlus programme.
