The Government will implement a national threshold for cataract surgery in an effort to shirk a "postcode lottery" hangover from the previous district health board system.
It will mean about 3500 more cataract surgeries will be performed.
It comes as the Government has faced increasing pressure to address and reduce waitlists for healthcare in New Zealand, and closely follows the one-year anniversary for the nationalised health system, Te Whatu Ora.
Previously, district health boards (DHBs) used a point system which meant there were "wildly" differing thresholds for access to cataract surgery, Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
She said opthalmologists and patients had called for consistency around the "life-improving" surgery.
"The revised threshold I'm announcing today responds to that."
Thresholds had varied from 46 to 61 points under DHBs, she said - with 46 representing "mildly reduced vision" and 61 poor vision to the point that the person could no longer legally drive.
In Auckland and Waitematā, the threshold was 46, while in Canterbury and Southern, it was 61, she said.
She said the variation showed the worst of the "postcode lottery" and it wasn't fair.
"In a first under the new health system [Te Whatu Ora] there will be a nationally consistent score of a maximum of 46 in order to access surgery, opening up eligibility for approximately 3500 more surgeries."
Te Whatu Ora's Hospital and Specialist team would work with referrers to identify who would be eligible for surgery under the new score and ensure they have "timely access" to the procedure.
"It has been a priority of mine to eliminate the inconsistency patients experience when they need surgical treatment because of the postcode lottery.
"[This] is a first in what we can expect to see across elective surgeries from now on - a joined-up health system working towards timely, consistent access to healthcare, regardless of where you live.
"We will now be able to use and build on this revised cataract surgery threshold as a model to improve other waitlists into the future."
Te Whatu Ora was also outsourcing to other providers and opthalmologists, Verrall's statement said, and further details on measures to address other waitlists was signalled "to come soon".
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