Health Outcomes & Innovation
Tend at a glance
Revolutionising health with scalable tech and integrated physical care.
Highlights to date
- 136k+ enrolled patients across the group
- Digi-physical care - in-clinic and online
- 23 clinics nationwide, of which 13 are Tend clinics
- Same-day 10-minute online appointments nationwide - with 2.5 hour median wait time
- Over 150 GPs and NPs across the group
- Almost 150 registered nurses and other clinicians across the group
- Over 127k Tend app users
- Over 50K Tend AI scribe consultations
- In 80.6% of all consults, the patient has the Tend app
- 97% of respondents report their needs were met
Our commitment to health equity
At Tend, we believe healthcare should be accessible, equitable and designed for patients and their whānau. Our approach to health equity is woven into everything we do. From the way we deliver care to how we build partnerships and monitor our impact, we are committed to eliminating health inequities, particularly for Māori, Pasifika and other communities with inequities in access, experience and outcomes.
Models of care
We are committed to removing barriers to healthcare and improving access for all. Our Tend app is available in Te Reo Māori and our clinicians speak a range of languages to provide inclusive and accessible care for our communities.
We also provide multiple options for accessing care, including both in-person and 24/7 online care to help remove barriers to accessing healthcare.
Prioritising health promotion and prevention, we support our patients through targeted recalls and proactive care, including our high care needs models helping them stay well.
Partnerships and people
Equity cannot be achieved alone. Tend partners with iwi and Māori organisations to deliver services that align with whānau needs and aspirations. We are dedicated to recruiting and developing Māori and Pasifika health professionals to reflect the communities we serve, and ensuring team training in health equity and cultural safety is a core part of our practice.
To enhance accessibility and patient choice, our website and app provide information on the languages spoken by our clinicians, as well as clinician specialty interests, including Māori health, rainbow health and women’s health. This supports our patients to connect with healthcare professionals who align with their specific cultural and clinical needs, supporting more equitable care.
Data and monitoring
To measure our progress and accountability, we have developed the Tend Outcomes Framework which aligns with Government Policy Statement for Health and the NZ Health Plan priority areas. This enables us to monitor and report on health equity outcomes, supporting continuous improvement in our services.
Tend outcomes framework
Tend actively monitors over 30 clinical indicators across key domains, including:
Long term condition management
• HbA1c control
• Cardiovascular risk
Preventative care
• Immunisation rates
• Screening rates
• Smoking cessation support
Timely access
• Appointment wait times
• Service utilisation
• Online and in-person access
• Repeat prescription turnaround times
Safe and effective care
• Adverse events
• Antibiotic stewardship
• Controlled drug prescribing
Measures of culturally safe and people-centred care include patient-reported outcomes, enrolment rates by ethnicity, and satisfaction metrics. All indicators are stratified by ethnicity and high-needs populations to identify inequities and drive targeted improvement. Additional indicators are under development to strengthen reporting on mental well-being and workforce well-being.
Health promotion
Tend's social media
We use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn to share accessible evidence-based health information that’s easy to understand. Our content promotes preventative care, early detection, and self-care while our medically reviewed health advice articles offer reliable advice on common conditions.
Tend Women's Health Week | Te Wiki Hauora Wāhine
In August 2024, Tend proudly launched its inaugural Women’s Health Week - Te Wiki Wāhine Hauora, marking a significant milestone in Aotearoa’s public health landscape. Grounded in comprehensive research from our patients, renowned wāhine toa, and leading women’s health experts, we introduced the first-ever national public health promotion initiative dedicated to women's health. Visit womenshealthweek.nz
Connecting with communities
Beyond digital engagement, Tend is committed to community-based outreach to improve health literacy, service accessibility and engagement with under-served populations. This includes our participation in Big Gay Out, where we provided on-site health promotion initiatives to support Rainbow Communities.
Additionally, we partner with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to deliver accessible health checks for their whānau, supporting early detection and preventative care within the community.
Targeting care through data-driven insights
Our data-driven approach identifies high-needs populations to support targeted health initiatives such as care management, immunisation campaigns and early intervention. Central to this is our High Care Needs Model, so care is aligned with each patient’s medical complexity, promoting better outcomes for those with chronic or complex health conditions.
Clinical governance & quality
At Tend, clinical leadership and governance is GP-led and embedded across our teams and operations to support best-practice, continuous quality improvement, and a sustainable primary care workforce.
Tend clinical leadership team
Dr Graham Denyer - Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Member of the Executive Leadership Team and reports to the Board, ensuring clinical risk, patient safety, and quality improvement remain central to organisational decision-making.
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Nicky Holder - Head of Nursing
Leads nursing workforce development, clinical practice standards and service delivery nationwide.
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GP leadership structure
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who sits on the Executive Team and leads the Clinical Leaders Group (CLG), with formal reporting into the Tend Board. The CMO is responsible for overall clinical direction, quality, and governance.
Group Clinical Directors (GCDs) who are senior RNZCGP Fellow GPs and are responsible for clinical oversight of a regional group of practices and are represented on the Clinical Leaders Group. Note: In future a GCD could also be a very senior Nurse Practitioner.
GP Clinical Leads who are senior RNZCGP Fellow GPs or senior Nurse Practitioners serving as the primary point of contact for local clinic leadership.
Nursing leadership structure
Head of Nursing (HoN) is the professional lead for all nurse leaders across Tend and is responsible for advancing the national nursing work programme and contributing to all model of care changes / projects. The Head of Nursing sits on the Clinical Leadership Group and is frequently invited to Executive Team meetings to report on progress relating to the nursing programme.
Group Nurse Managers (GNMs) are responsible for leading the nursing teams and services across a group of clinics in a region or area. The Group Nurse Manager formally manages all nursing team members for their clinics and is responsible for the performance, quality, and implementation of the Tend model.
Nurse Leads are the nurse lead for each clinic and are responsible for the day to day delivery of nursing services. They are responsible for rostering and daily workforce management of the nursing team.
Nurse Managers are appointed where we have rural or remote clinics without scale to share leadership across sites.
Clinical leaders group
The Clinical Leaders Group (CLG) at Tend provides clinical governance and leadership to enhance clinical quality and safety, continuous improvement, and health equity.
The group’s primary objectives include:
• Supporting clinical excellence and best-practice to improve patient safety and service quality.
• Driving continuous improvement using evidence and patient feedback.
• Monitoring health equity for Māori and underserved communities.
Specific functions include:
• Improving quality of care by advising on improvement activity and implementing learnings across Tend Health.
• Addressing clinical performance and emerging clinical risks. Promoting evidence-based best practices for continuous quality improvement and service development.
• Monitoring clinical indicators and metrics related to risk mitigation, PHO, and the Tend Outcomes Framework, then advising on actions for improvement.
• Advising on the Tend Model of Care, including systems development and implementation to to improve service quality.
• Increasing opportunities for professional development, well-being, and training to support the workforce.
• Reviewing adverse events/near misses to enhance patient safety.
• Improving health equity through supporting Māori leadership, partnerships, and options for improved access and cultural safety.
• Enhancing care for high needs patients by supporting quality outcomes and safety through technology-enabled care planning and structured pathways.
The CLG is composed of the senior clinical leadership team and representatives from each clinical role , with regional representation across Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, Tauranga, and Te Waipounamu / South Island.
Continuous quality improvement
Tend’s Quality Framework integrates real-time data analytics, AI-driven clinical audits, and monitoring of clinical indicators. This enables identification of clinical risks, service improvements, and alignment with best-practice guidelines.
Our clinical audit processes include:
• Routine reviews of clinical notes to assess documentation quality, care planning, and coding.
• Prescribing audits to monitor prescribing practices against best-practice guidelines. For example antibiotic stewardship - the rate of antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections.
• Incident and near-miss tracking, ensuring rapid response and learning from adverse events.
Workforce development
A high-quality, well-supported workforce is essential for sustainable primary care. Tend actively supports its clinicians' professional development.
Key initiatives include:
• Peer review groups for case discussions and reflective practice
• Clinical education including student nurse practicums
• Training and resourcing in cultural safety, health equity, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• A focus on clinician well-being, integrating staff pulse surveys and well-being initiatives into workforce planning
Technology & AI: Enabling smarter healthcare
Our network-wide, single integrated digital health record system ensures clinicians have real-time access to patient history across our network, reducing fragmentation and improving continuity of care. This allows for faster, more informed decision-making, enhances coordination across healthcare providers, and improves patient safety.
All of this integrates seamlessly with the Tend app, where patients can book appointments, see their appointment notes, view test results, and manage their health - all in one place. Tend is an Open Notes practice.
Tend Scribe
Developed in-house, Tend Scribe is an AI-powered clinical note drafting tool, assisting clinicians to write high quality clinical notes and patient instructions. It automates clinical note-taking, significantly reducing administrative workload for clinicians.
By eliminating the need for manual notes, Scribe enhances efficiency, allowing clinicians to focus more on patient care. Clinicians remain entirely responsible for all clinical decision making and consultation notes while using Scribe.
Why we chose to build Scribe, not buy
Our decision to build was driven by our vision of AI as an integrated capability rather than a standalone product. For a healthcare network of our scale, this approach delivers significant advantages.
Scribe outcomes:
+ 39% increase in appointments finishing on time
+ 81% clinician uptake among eligible appointments
Scribe has been developed with close clinical supervision and output quality is continuously measured against validated clinical quality tooling.
Partner with Tend Health
Contact us to explore commissioning opportunities, partnership models and data-driven health solutions.
Email us at partnerships@tend.nz