New Zealand merges health authorities:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The New Zealand government has begun the process of merging the country's four regional health authorities into a single health funding body. The new agency will be in place by mid-1998, said Health Minister Bill English. As a preliminary step, a Transitional Health Authority has been set up, which will take over the functions of the four authorities. The regional contracts for New Zealand's breast screening service have already been cancelled and replaced by a national contract, reports GP Weekly.