Emphasis on primary health is a key Government policy and a philosophy which is at the core of Southern District Health Board strategies.
The study, by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said a good primary health system played a vital role in preventing death and disease.
However, evidence from New Zealand and overseas suggested an increased focus on primary health did not automatically lead to the reduction of acute hospital admissions which policy makers predicted.
Possible reasons why not included practitioners' lack of time, lack of confidence in the effectiveness of treatment, lack of patient compliance, and barriers to accessing health care, such as poverty.
''To reduce pressure on hospitals, a 'systems approach' is needed,'' the research said.
''This requires strong integration between hospital, primary care and social services to provide care that is truly patient-centric.''
Also vital was political commitment to properly fund an inclusive, long-term strategy.
''Arguably, the most urgent need is to remove the barriers to access and to address primary care workforce shortages.''
Last year primary health organisation WellSouth and the SDHB rolled out their primary and community care strategy, which will integrate GP services into a ''health care home'' model and take a team approach to treating patients.
In the next stage, ''health care hubs'' will be created, centralising a range of health care services, including some now offered at hospitals, on one site.
The research said there was a lack of studies from anywhere other than the United States, where health care homes started.
Other factors such as funding and physician behaviour could also produce improved results.
New Zealand studies to date said health care homes here did not appear to have had a short-term impact on hospital admissions.
WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said the research was useful, as it emphasised the need for a ''joined-up plan'' between primary and secondary health.
He was confident that was what the South had.
''If you implement health care homes structurally and procedurally, it does decrease admission rates, it does decrease referral rates to specialists in hospitals, so that is why we have said primary care needs to reorganise the way it delivers services.''
SDHB strategy, primary and community executive director Lisa Gestro agreed the research confirmed the organisations were heading in the right direction.
''It is good to take stock, though, and I think it is a good reminder that our strategy is about integration, not just about primary and community care.''
A large number of initiatives in the strategy were aimed at bringing health and social services together to meet people's needs, such as warmer homes and clean air initiatives, Mrs Gestro said.
''This report reminds us that putting money into health services specifically is never going to get us where we want to be.
''We can continue to increase access and in doing so reduce unmet need, but the real gains are going to be in working with housing, securing safer drinking water ... so [it is] a timely reminder that we need to do more of that.''
The strategy was released a year ago, and since then 1485 additional patients have registered online ''patient portals'' to help manage their own healthcare.
Other figures showed 35% of same-day requests were resolved by phone, meaning people avoided a trip to the clinic, and more than 3600 people on client-led integrated care, a proactive approach to improving health through general practice.
Former hospital procedures now being done in the community included biopsy, intravenous antibiotics, catheterisation and iron infusions.
