Partnership and managed care: a way forward

As the programme of health reform in New Zealand gains momentum the number of new concepts and terms used to describe them is increasing to an extent where it would be easy for nurses, on whom the changes have major impact, to become overwhelmed. Most prominent and influential among the current ideas are managed care, evidence based practice, critical pathways and cultural safety. All these are permeated by the change process. In this paper critical issues surrounding aforementioned terms are discussed from both a professional and a consumer viewpoint, with reference to both the literature and media sources. The purpose is clarification, with the aim of assisting nurses to be more engaged in the debate.