FAQs

How can the KPI Programme support me and my service?

• Indicators allow you to benchmark performance.
• The Programme offers space for exploration and reflection, and for understanding the story behind the numbers (context).
• It facilitates connection to enable collaboration across regions and organisations.
• It drives continuous improvement that ensures equity for tāngata whai ora, whānau, and communities.
• Indicator dashboards highlight gaps and drive meaningful action and grow literacy in information use.
• The KPI Programme highlights the ‘good mahi’ happening in our sector.

Register to access the indicator dashboards and other resources

Explore the indicators and their different dashboards, play around with filters, and check out our stories and resources pages.

Register here

How to use the indicator dashboards

Stay connected

Here are a few simple ways to grow your information journey:

• Join a Benchmarking Breakout

Connect with others in similar roles and hear how they’re using the indicators and information to improve their services. Benchmarking Breakouts are online sessions organised by the KPI Programme team and run in a wānanga style – friendly, informal and supportive spaces for our mental health and addiction workforce to ask questions and contribute safely with peers. Bring your questions, share your challenges and network across the motu.

• Attend a benchmarking forum

Benchmarking forums are in-person hui organised by the KPI Programme that bring together people across Aotearoa New Zealand to hear stories of improvement from other people working across the sector, take part in benchmarking sessions using the indicators, share, learn and connect with other kaimahi keen to improve services in the mental health and addiction sector. Note: Forums may be one national event or four regional forums.

Visit the events page

Keep informed

Subscribe to our e-newsletter, The Indicator, to stay in the loop about events, tools, and new resources.

Subscribe to our e-newsletter

Get in touch with our team

We’re here to help you make sense of the indicators and apply the knowledge and learning to your mahi. Email your questions or feedback to info@mhakpi.health.co.nz

The KPI Programme’s six indicators provide interactive dashboards to help our workforce understand how their mental health and addiction service is doing compared to others across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Indicator dashboards show information in a clear, visual way to assist users to understand trends and patterns, and gain insights that help to focus on where they need to make improvements in service delivery.

Our six indicators

There are currently six indicators: seclusion, wait times, seven-day follow up, continuity of care, whānau engagement and 28-day readmission.

Using PRIMHD data, information in the dashboards can be filtered by region, by service type or stream (adult, child and youth, NGO), by age, gender, ethnicity and other measures.

These are tools services can use to benchmark (compare) and track progress, gain insights from and then take action to improve services, with a goal of more equitable and positive outcomes for tāngata whai ora, whānau and communities.

How to use the indicator dashboards

For those starting out with benchmarking for service improvement, we have some questions to guide your exploration of the indicator dashboards.

• How well is our district or service performing in comparison to the national average?
• How well is our district or service performing compared to other similar districts or services?
• What differences can I see in the dashboards?

a. What district or service could we connect with to understand what is causing the difference?

• Which districts or services are showing improvement in the indicator over time?

a. Who should we connect with to understand how they have sustained the improvements?

• What inequities are showing in the demographic information?

a. Are there population groups we should prioritise and engage with to inform service improvement initiatives?

b. What can we learn from the group(s) affected by the inequities about their service experiences that could be contributing to these inequities?

This is the term used to describe a person seeking wellness. Tāngata whai ora, with a macron, is people (plural) seeking wellness. Te reo terminology used on our website is guided by Te Reo Hapai, A Māori language glossary for use in the mental health, addiction and disability sectors.

Explore Te Reo Hāpai

An indicator is a marker or pointer. In the KPI Programme, indicators are the markers we use to attract attention and keep focus on parts of the system, the mental health and addiction workforce thinks are important for the delivery of a safe, effective and efficient service for people who use our services and their whānau.

Benchmarking is the process of comparing performance, processes, or practices of an organisation, team, or system against a standard or an example. It’s used to identify areas for improvement, set goals, and drive performance.

Benchmarking is just one important tool in the continuous improvement kete. Across the world, benchmarking is used as a mechanism to drive innovation and implement better-quality services. By its very nature, benchmarking is an iterative process where improvement happens over time based on knowledge and insights gained from quality improvement interventions.

Data and information informed benchmarking can also help provide critical evidence to point to where practice, process or improvements need to occur. The basis of good benchmarking starts with robust data collection, but the true value of benchmarking lies in asking the right questions to understand the numbers in their right context. Remember, every data point is a person who is loved by a whānau and contributes to their community.

It would be easy to get lost in looking at just the numbers without seeking to understand the context in which the data sits. But we may run the risk of making decisions and putting effort into initiatives and projects that don’t work or create more harm for tāngata whai ora.

As a programme, we remain committed to humanising the national mental health and addiction dataset. Enabling benchmarking practices that encourage the implementation of upstream solutions that benefit both people who access support and our kaimahi.

The use of indicators in health care settings in New Zealand goes back to the early 2000s. It evolved from the private sector, where businesses were using indicators and benchmarking to improve service efficiency and effectiveness.

Benchmarking in health services is like benchmarking in a for-profit business, except that what we benchmark in health exists on a continuum, which means it doesn’t end. In business, if things don’t work or lose money, they stop doing them. In Aotearoa New Zealand, health is not profit-driven; we rarely stop providing services purely because they cost too much.

However, people working in health can still look at ways to provide better quality services that utilise taxpayer money in more effective and efficient ways and provide better outcomes for the people who use them.

An outcome is a measurable change in health status for people that is a result of treatment, health intervention or another event.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora allows the KPI Programme to use the Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD). We then use this data to create indicators with information that is meaningful and usable for you, our kaimahi.

Mental health and addiction services are delivered in community, primary care, and inpatient service settings. The KPI Programme provides information that comes from PRIMHD for community and inpatient service settings. We do not have access to primary care data, so we do not provide information for this setting.

• Community settings include NGOs, Kaupapa Māori, Peer support services and community mental health teams, including child and youth services. The KPI Programme will specify if an indicator is for a community setting.
• Inpatient service settings are funded by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and include inpatient services for all ages (child and Youth, Adult, and older persons) and forensic services. The KPI Programme will specify if the indicator is for an inpatient setting.

Focus areas of work may also be referred to as target populations, populations or streams. It generally refers to the age group of the people who access funded MHA services. The KPI Programme indicators provide information on Infant, Child and Youth (zero to 17), Adult (18 to 64), older person (65+) and forensic (all age groups).

Much of this information is accessed using age group filters, and you will need to select the age range(s) required for your mahi. Some filters provide age bands to allow more precise filtering, others will just state they are for Child and Youth, Adult and Older Persons.

It is important to note that the default setting for all indicator dashboards is ‘All’. This means all categories are selected and you will need to modify the filter for your specific area of work. If you are looking at the information from an organisational perspective, you may want to leave the age range as ‘All’.

An inscope activity is an activity recorded in PRIMHD that we use to calculate the information we provide in an indicator.

You can look at the technical definition for each indicator to identify which activities are inscope for that measure. They may include activity settings, activity types.

A service episode combines all overlapping referrals for a person within a single organisation. This person-centric view should more accurately present a service journey that may include movement between teams or wrap-around support delivered by multiple services within the organisation. Because a service episode could span many different teams, categorising a service episode into a single team type is tricky, which is why we only provide an initial team type filter.

The index referral is the very first or initial referral recorded in a service episode. The initial team type is the team where this referral was first recorded as taking place. This is the team type where the person began their service journey. A service episode can have only one initial team type.

The Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD) is a national dataset that has been collecting activity and service data since 2008. The data you collect and report in your service feeds into PRIMHD. Data is collected in PRIMHD using codes for settings and activity. Each activity you do with a person is recorded and submitted to PRIMHD.

Visit Health New Zealand’s PRIMHD – mental health data page

Download the guide to PRIMHD activity collection and use

The sector is guided and monitored by key agencies:

• Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora): Manages service delivery and commissioning.
• Ministry of Health (Manatū Hauora): Responsible for policy and regulation.
• Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission: Provides independent oversight, monitoring, and advocacy

There are four workforce development centres who support workforce development and data analysis

• Te Pou
• Whāraurau
• Te Rau Ora
• Le Va

Our kaitiaki

The mental health and addiction workforce has always been integral to the KPI Programme, from its inception to indicator development and sustaining the vision and value of data and information use across 20 years. Without the tireless commitment and contribution of the kaitiaki rōpū to ensuring continuous service improvement remains front of mind in our sector, the Programme would not exist.

Read more about the KPI Programme sponsor group

Read more about our KPI Programme sector leads

The KPI Programme team

Have questions about the dashboards, or need help? Get in touch with Sima Clarke and Abigail McDonald from the KPI Programme team at info@mhakpi.health.nz

Meet the KPI Programme team

Our four strategic pillars

Four pou or pillars form the foundation of the KPI Programme and guide how we work with the mental health and addiction sector. These pou were founded by the KPI Programme kaitiaki in 2019.

Collaborate

We work together to deliver consistent, high-quality services by collecting and using the right data, and sharing insights that drive meaningful collective action.

Success looks like:

• A benchmarking system that actively nurtures learning and quality improvement
• Indicators that reflect the breadth of the sector, not just one part of it
• Strong sector partnerships and initiatives that lead to more equitable health outcomes

Enable

We equip the sector with access to relevant, timely data to compare outcomes, measure impact, and make informed decisions.

Success looks like:

• Accessible, high-quality dynamic data that supports action
• A sector confident in using data
• Analytical tools and data visualisation technologies that help tell powerful stories

Innovate

We challenge current thinking to uncover new ways of working that improve service quality, access, and equity.

Success looks like:

• New indicators developed in response to sector priorities
• Data is used to shape thinking and influence policy and practice that meets the needs of tāngata whai ora, whānau and communities
• Innovation spreading across all regions and service settings

Promote

We foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement by sharing success, adapting together, and striving for excellence.

Success looks like:

• Insights that help services adapt and improve
• Successes celebrated to spark change
• A sector inspired to create impact beyond its boundaries

The following principles help guide how the mental health and addiction sector engages with the Programme and how our KPI Programme team practices.

Principle of use

Contributors to the KPI Programme will actively use benchmarking activity within their organisations to inform and improve the quality of services for the benefit of tāngata whai ora, their whānau and communities.

Information, data or resources from the KPI Programme will not be used by an individual or organisation for purposes other than intended, or without prior permission from Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora.

The exception to this is when disclosure is required under the Official Information Act (1982), or other legal provision, or as part of the agreed publication process of the KPI data set by the Programme.

Principle of collaboration

All contributors to the KPI Programme promote positive relationships within the group.

This will be demonstrated by the provision of mutual support and the creation of a safe environment that enables shared learning to take place.

Principle of reciprocity

Contributing organisations and individuals to the Programme are willing to provide and share the same amount of detail they receive, through their participation in the KPI Programme and benchmarking activities.

Principle of confidentiality

Benchmarking conversations that occur at events or in benchmarking breakouts remain confidential to the participants involved, unless permission is provided to share these insights.

The exception to this is when disclosure is required under the Official Information Act (1982) or other legal provision, or as part of the agreed publication process of the KPI data set by the Programme.

Principle of preparation

Participants demonstrate commitment to the KPI Programme and benchmarking activities by allowing sufficient preparation time before each meeting, event or forum.

This principle applies to the entire organisation, not just the individuals attending meetings, events or benchmarking forums.

This principle also applies to the KPI Programme team, facilitators, evaluators, scribes and anyone else who attends meetings, events and benchmarking forums.

Principle of transparency

Meetings, events and benchmarking forums operate best when contributors are open and honest with one another.

Diversity of opinion is respected and acknowledged. Contributors to the KPI Programme operate in a safe no judgement environment.

In the spirit of transparency, national-level information from the indicators will be published on the home page of the KPI Programme website. This information will have some narrative information and be presented in a format that is easy to understand.

Principle of leadership

All participants have an important role to play as leaders in their own organisations and the wider mental health and addictions sector.

Contributors to the KPI Programme are promoters and champions of the Programmes vision and mission. They are passionate about the use of information as an evidence-informed tool to improve mental health and addiction services for the people who use them.

Principle of communication

Good communication is the cornerstone of all success. Contributors to the KPI Programme commit to communication that is respectful, constructive and solution focused.

KPI Programme contributors agree to share their learnings (good and bad) to grow understanding and benefit the sector.