While Julie Taylor's article in the Rotorua Daily Post with the catchy title "Patients can't get hospital satisfaction" takes one back to that great old Rolling Stones song, it is nevertheless somewhat misleading.

Not only does Ms Taylor cites the statistics she obtained from the latest Hospital Benchmarking Information report produced by the Ministry of Health incorrectly (the overall patient satisfaction among Lakes DHB patients is 83.7%, not 85.9%!) but, more importantly, the title ignores the fact that more than eight out of ten patients who have been treated at Rotorua and Taupo hospitals are very happy with their care!

In a recent article Associate Professor Samson Tse, from the Centre for Asian Health Research and Evaluation at the University of Auckland, says our health system is failing New Zealand's Asian community because it lumps them into a single group and does not address their individual health needs.

The survey canvassed nearly 3000 women who gave birth in March or April last year. A similar survey was undertaken in 2002. The results are overwhelmingly positive and show some gains since the last survey. Every area of New Zealand’s maternity services, from Lead Maternity Carers, to antenatal care, to hospital stay, and postnatal care, were all graded with satisfaction levels of 90 percent or higher.

Here's the full release.

By Linda Wilson

One of the most important things in taking care of yourself is understanding your doctor’s advice well enough to carry it out. While that sounds simple enough, here in the United States studies have shown that approximately 90 million people don’t understand their doctor’s advice well enough to follow it at home. And that can be dangerous, especially for the diabetic. For the diabetic, caring for their illness is a big job. There are lots of things to remember and lots of things to do. And just about the time you think you have it all figured out, you go in for your routine check-up. And wouldn’t you know it! When your tests results come back, you get a phone call from your doctor’s office. You are told to change meds or take meds at different times, etc. It’s no wonder we sometimes get confused.

Buttons for hospitals can be a great way to spread motivation, identify people, and help with the healing process. There are a great many uses and fun projects that hospitals can do utilizing buttons. From Public Relations to patient care, buttons can serve you well in a hospital environment.

Any hospital with a children's ward should have a button maker machine. Children in the hospital are often frightened, disoriented and of course ill. For patients who are able to sit up and draw, button making can help fill those hours between visitors, occupy their mind and make them feel useful. A positive outlook plays a critical role in a patient's recovery and for children, it is important to inspire creativity to take their minds off their environment. Button making for the children can be both beneficial to their mental health and fun.

Employers increasingly are realizing the value that worksite wellness programs deliver as an effective tool to improve employee health, increase productivity, reduce absenteeism and lower health care costs.

A 2003 report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for employers to incorporate health promotion as part of their business strategy. The report asserts that preventable diseases place a heavy toll on business, including lower productivity and higher health insurance costs.

As you can see we have just launched our new website with several new features including an oilne shop so you can purchase our surveys, books and advertising slots online via Paypal.

Also new is the HSCR banner advertising network. So far we offer banner advertising, (in image, text or html format) on hscr.co.nz and healthconnection.co.nz but we will be expanding that network to include other health sector websites in the near future.