Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says latest data shows around 4000 more Lakes District Health Board patients have received a First Specialist Assessment (FSA) since 2008.
In a press statement, Dr Coleman said increasing access to specialist care was a key priority.
"The answer to increased demand is to do more,whether it's assessments or operations, and that's what the Government is focused on delivering."
Mr Coleman said in Lakes DHB, 13,853 patients received a first specialist assessment last year, compared to 9660 patients in 2008 - an increase of 43 per cent.
"Across the country 552,423 patients received a FSA in 2016, a rise of almost 10,000 on the previous year. That's an increase of 147,912 patients since 2008 when 404,511 FSAs were carried out - a rise of 37 per cent.
"This uplift has been accompanied by a continuing increase in the number of people receiving elective surgery.
"These results are supported by the $76 million funding increase Lakes DHB has received over the last eight years. Lakes DHB will receive an extra $15 million in new money this year, taking the DHB's total funding to $322 million for 2016/17."
The Government launched the National Patient Flow project to measure the outcomes of GP referrals to hospital specialists for the first time.
The latest data shows that between April and June 2016, there were around 177,400 referrals across the country for a FSA - 87 per cent of referrals were accepted.
First Specialist Assessments: - Surgical FSAs are for patients whose condition is managed by a surgeon, for example - orthopaedics, general surgery, ophthalmology. - Medical FSAs are for patients whose condition is managed by a physician, for example - cardiology, respiratory, renal.
