Now it's healthy to wait

It's been said too much television is bad for your health but that's not the case at several Rotorua medical centres.

Widescreen LCD televisions screening health and lifestyle messages have been installed in waiting rooms at Ranolf Medical Centre, Korowai Aroha, Ngongotaha Medical Centre, Lakes PrimeCare and Murupara Medical Centre.

A TV also features in the waiting room at the Selwyn Heights clinic run by Ngati Pikiao Health Services. Their Ngapuna clinic will provide the service to waiting patients in a few weeks.

Taupo also benefits with televisions installed at Taupo Health Centre and the Taupo Medical Centre.

Ranolf Medical Centre has had its TV for a month and practice manager Debbie Morris said it had generated positive feedback from patients.

"Adults enjoy it and some parents like it because it occupies their children," she said. "I've noticed a lot of men fascinated with the speakers."

The service is provided free to centres by two competing companies - Health TV and Med TV.

The companies make money through contracts with various government departments or agencies, including ACC, Pharmac and Ministry of Health.

They fund 10 or 20-minute programmes promoting various health or lifestyle messages, such as the importance of exercise, a balanced diet, immunisation and other child health issues.

The programmes change regularly and, to maintain variety, also feature segments of New Zealand music.

The LCD televisions are accompanied with special directional speakers which allow patients in certain areas of the waiting room to hear the messages without disrupting other patients or staff.

They are the latest feature in a drive by health promoters and commercial operators to use technology to educate wide sectors of the community.

On average, New Zealand patients wait 20 minutes to see a GP or nurse.

Those patients were in the "right frame of mind" to listen to the messages, Health TV chief executive Travis O'Keefe said.

His company has revolutionised the waiting room experience, with 85 medical centres taking up the free TV offer, including 14 in the Bay of Plenty.

Health TV hopes another 80 centres will feature their service by the end of the year.

Med TV has produced waiting room programmes since 2002. It started with DVDs but launched a digital service earlier this year. About 160 waiting rooms, including three in Rotorua, are taking up the new service.

It can also offer medical centres touch screen computers so patients can access health information relevant to them.

The TV services come hot on the heels of Rotorua's touch-screen health kiosk, launched in May.

The Webhealth kiosk provides easy search access to more than 500 health and wellbeing service providers in the Lakes district.

Funded by Health Rotorua PHO and Rotorua Trust, it complements the free Webhealth website sponsored by the Lakes District Health Board.

The kiosk is being moved around Rotorua and is currently at the Rotorua Public Library. It will be based at the Rotorua Central Mall for three months from October before it is moved to the Citizens Advice Bureau.