A national cross-sectional study has shown that being Māori or Pasifika, or living in material deprivation, is associated with poorer health outcomes, regardless of the type of primary care offered. Outcomes assessed were polypharmacy in individuals aged ≥65 years, glycosylated haemoglobin testing in adults with diabetes, childhood immunisations received by 6 months of age, ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations in those aged 0-14 years and 45-64 years, and emergency department attendances. A total of 924 primary care practices with 4,491,964 enrolled patients were included in the study. While 73% of the population were enrolled in traditional primary care practices, the proportion of Māori, Pasifika and individuals living in material deprivation was low in these practices. Māori, Pasifika and trust/non-governmental organisation practices had disproportionate enrolments of patients with high health needs. Although patients with higher health needs received more clinical input, this was insufficient to achieve equity across all outcomes. No one model of primary care out-performed others for all health outcomes.
