Why New Zealand?

I have been asked why are you moving to New Zealand to practice medicine?  First and foremost I have become disillusioned by american physicians loss of control of their patients care and the over emphasis on productivity and profitability. They used to ask how can I help you deliver better care to your patients, they now ask how can we make you more productive? As a hospital employee I was told that all my patients would receive a 12 lead ECG at the time of visit if they had not received one in the past year. Clearly healthy asymptomatic young people with a normal ECG do not need them repeated yearly. When I asked why, I was told that insurance will pay for yearly ECG's and the administrators felt it was a good way to increase revenue. This is a example of a important philosophical shift in american medicine whose first priority is not what is in the best interest of the patient but rather what is in the best financial interest of the health system. One example of how New Zealand has got it right is their lower incidence of medical errors 5.6% to 9.7% in the US*. One important reason is their integrated electronic medical record system enabling rapid digital communication among doctors. For example, a patient's primary-care doctor is electronically notified if a specialist changes his or her treatment. This is not the case in the US were electronic medical record systems are fragmented. Im sure  I will find out a lot more about the New Zealand health system in the next year so keep logging in to "Kiwi Adventure" Cheers!
*Source: Health Expectations