Associate Professor Rory Miller

2026

Journal - Research Article

Blattner, K., Clay, L., George, J., Whitehead, J., & Miller, R. (2026). Establishing research priorities for rural health in Aotearoa New Zealand: A modified Delphi study. Journal of Primary Health Care. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1071/hc26032

Pickering, J. W., du Toit, S., Cheer, S., Buchan, V., Miller, R., Joyce, L. R., Than, M., & Florkowski, C. M. (2026). Analytical verification of a point-of-care high-sensitivity troponin I assay. Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, 11(2), 295-306. doi: 10.1093/jalm/jfaf181

Withington, S., Davie, G., Crengle, S., James, M., Booker, B., de Graaf, B., Miller, R., … Nixon, G. (2026). Rural urban differences in receipt of radiation oncology services for breast, prostate and lung cancer by ethnicity in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Oncology, 70(1), 101-112. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.70049

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Miller, R. (2026, April). Rural-urban differences in cardiovascular disease mortality and cardiac service utilisation: An observational study. Verbal presentation at the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Aotearoa, Wellington New Zealand.

2025

Journal - Research Article

Donaldson, A., Miller, R., Nixon, G., & Davie, G. S. (2025). Exploring discrepancies in clinical coding between rural and urban hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand in patients who underwent interhospital transfer. Rural & Remote Health, 25(2). doi: 10.22605/rrh9309

Miller, R., Turner, R., Davie, G., Stokes, T., Crengle, S., McLeod, A., … Nixon, G. (2025). Is there a difference in ischaemic heart disease deaths that occur without a preceding hospital admission in people who live in rural compared with urban areas of Aotearoa New Zealand? An observational study. BMJ Open, 15, e088691. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088691

2024

Journal - Research Article

Miller, R., Davie, G., Crengle, S., Liepins, T., Clay, L., Whitehead, J., Taafaki, J., de Graaf, B., & Nixon, G. (2024). Development of an interactive web app to examine rural-urban variation in COVID-19 vaccination rates and to inform case study site selection. New Zealand Population Review, 50, 325-351. Retrieved from https://population.org.nz/journal/

Davie, G., Whitehead, J., Miller, R., Atkinson, J., Crengle, S., de Graaf, B., Lawrenson, R., Smith, M., & Nixon, G. (2024). Accuracy of domicile codes in New Zealand's hospital discharge data and implications for urban-rural analyses. New Zealand Population Review, 50, 42-70. Retrieved from https://population.org.nz/journal/

Miller, R., Davie, G., Crengle, S., Whitehead, J., De Graaf, B., & Nixon, G. (2024). Avoiding double counting: The effect of bundling hospital events in administrative datasets for the interpretation of rural-urban differences in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 172, 111400. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111400

Nixon, G., Davie, G., Whitehead, J., Miller, R., de Graaf, B., Liepins, T., Lawrenson, R., & Crengle, S. (2024). Rural-urban variation in the utilisation of publicly funded healthcare services: An age-stratified population-level observational study. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 137(1590), 33-47. Retrieved from https://www.nzmj.org.nz/

Liepins, T., Davie, G., Miller, R., Whitehead, J., De Graaf, B., Clay, L., Crengle, S., & Nixon, G. (2024). Rural-urban variation in COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Aotearoa New Zealand: Examining the national roll-out. Epidemiology & Infection, 152, e7. doi: 10.1017/s0950268823001978

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Renelle, A., Miller, R., Ram, S., Blattner, K., Crengle, S., Lawrenson, R., & Nixon, G. (2024). Exploring seasonal and geographic variation in rural hospital use and bypass behaviour. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 137(1595), (pp. 112-113). Retrieved from https://www.nzmj.org.nz/

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nixon, G., Davie, G., Crengle, S., Whitehead, J., Miller, R., & Liepins, T. (2024, April). Undertaking rural-urban analysis using your own or routinely collected health data: The GCH team. Verbal presentation at the Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network National Rural Health Conference, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, New Zealand.

Miller, R. (2024, April). Acute coronary syndrome management and outcomes: Do disparities for patients presenting to rural hospitals exist? Verbal presentation at the Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network National Rural Health Conference, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, New Zealand.

Miller, R. (2024, April). A retrospective observational study examining interhospital transfers from six New Zealand rural hospitals in 2019. Verbal presentation at the Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network National Rural Health Conference, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, New Zealand.

Awarded Doctoral Degree

Miller, R. M. (2024). Evaluating and improving care for chest pain and non-ST-segment acute coronary syndromes in rural Aotearoa New Zealand (PhD). University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10523/44187

2023

Journal - Research Article

Whitehead, J., Atkinson, J., Davie, G., De Graaf, B., Eggleton, K., Crengle, S., Miller, R., Blattner, K., Crampton, P., & Nixon, G. (2023). Comparison of the sociodemographic composition of rural and urban Aotearoa New Zealand: Insights from applying the geographic classification for health to the 2018 census. New Zealand Population Review, 49, 27-69.

Miller, R., Nixon, G., Turner, R. M., Stokes, T., Keenan, R., Jiang, Y., … Kerr, A. (2023). Investigation and treatment after non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome for patients presenting to rural or urban hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand: ANZACS-QI 75. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 136(1585), 85-102. Retrieved from https://journal.nzma.org.nz/

Miller, R., Rimmer, E., Blattner, K., Withington, S., Ram, S., Topping, M., … Bergin, A., … Smith, M., & Nixon, G. (2023). A retrospective observational study examining interhospital transfers from six New Zealand rural hospitals in 2019. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 31, 921-931. doi: 10.1111/ajr.13024

Nixon, G., Davie, G., Whitehead, J., Miller, R., de Graaf, B., Lawrenson, R., Smith, M., … Crengle, S. (2023). Comparison of urban and rural mortality rates across the lifespan in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A population-level study. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 77, 571-577. doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-220337

Miller, R., Nixon, G., Turner, R. M., Stokes, T., Keenan, R., Grey, C., … Kerr, A. (2023). Outcomes and access to angiography following non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes in patients who present to rural or urban hospitals: ANZACS-QI 72. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 136(1573), 27-54. Retrieved from https://journal.nzma.org.nz/

Whitehead, J., Davie, G., de Graaf, B., Crengle, S., Lawrenson, R., Miller, R., & Nixon, G. (2023). Unmasking hidden disparities: A comparative observational study examining the impact of different rurality classifications for health research in Aotearoa New Zealand. BMJ Open, 13, e067927. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067927

Blattner, K., Clay, L., Nixon, G., Richard, L., Miller, R., Crengle, S., … Stokes, T. (2023). The place of rural hospitals in New Zealand's health system: An exploratory qualitative study. Rural & Remote Health, 23(2), 7583. doi: 10.22605/rrh7583

Whitehead, J., Blattner, K., Miller, R., Crengle, S., Ram, S., Walker, X., & Nixon, G. (2023). Defining catchment boundaries and their populations for Aotearoa New Zealand's rural hospitals. Journal of Primary Health Care, 15(1), 14-23. doi: 10.1071/hc22133

Miller, R., Nixon, G., Stokes, T., Smith, M., Pickering, J. W., Liepins, T., … Than, M. (2023). The cost-savings of the rural accelerated chest pain pathway for low-risk chest pain in rural general practice: A cost minimisation analysis. Journal of Primary Health Care, 15(1), 71-76. doi: 10.1071/HC22117

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Miller, R., Davie, G., De Graaf, B., Crengle, S., & Nixon, G. (2023). Avoiding double counting: The effect of bundling hospital events in administrative datasets for the interpretation of rural-urban differences in Aotearoa New Zealand. Proceedings of the New Zealand Biostatistics Conference. Retrieved from https://events.otago.ac.nz/2023-biostatistics-conference

Miller, R., Nixon, G., Stokes, T., Turner, R., Jiang, Y., Keenan, R., … Kerr, A. (2023). Outcomes and access to angiography following non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes in patients that present to rural or urban hospitals. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 136(1585), (pp. 121-122). Retrieved from https://journal.nzma.org.nz/

2022

Journal - Research Article

Blattner, K., Clay, L., Miller, R., Nixon, G., Crengle, S., Richard, L., … Stokes, T. (2022). New Zealand's rural hospitals in 2021: Findings from an exploratory questionnaire survey. Journal of Primary Health Care, 14(3), 254-258. doi: 10.1071/HC22072

McGuinness, M. J., Harmston, C., on behalf of STRATA, including Wright, D., Miller, R., & Clifford, Z. (2022). Management and outcomes of rib fractures in patients with isolated blunt thoracic trauma: Results of the Aotearoa New Zealand RiBZ study. Injury, 53(9), 2953-2959. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2022.03.058

Norman, T., Young, J., Jones, J. S., Egan, G., Pickering, J., Du Toit, S., … Miller, R., Frampton, C., … George, P., & Than, M. (2022). Implementation and evaluation of a rural general practice assessment pathway for possible cardiac chest pain using point-of-care troponin testing: A pilot study. BMJ Open, 12, e044801. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044801

Blattner, K., Faatoese, A., Smith, M., Maoate, K., Miller, R., & Richards, R. (2022). New Zealand postgraduate medical training by distance for Pacific Island country-based general practitioners: A qualitative study. Journal of Primary Health Care, 14(1), 74-79. doi: 10.1071/HC21090

Miller, R., Nixon, G., Pickering, J. W., Stokes, T., Turner, R. M., Young, J., Gutenstein, M., Smith, M., … Watson, A., George, P., … Than, M. (2022). A prospective multi-centre study assessing the safety and effectiveness following the implementation of an accelerated chest pain pathway using point-of-care troponin for use in New Zealand rural hospital and primary care settings. European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care, 11(5), 418-427. doi: 10.1093/ehjacc/zuac037

Blattner, K., Miller, R., Smith, M., & Lander, J. (2022). Doing without the residential component of a blended postgraduate rural medical programme during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand: Student perspectives. Education for Primary Care, 33(2), 77-84. doi: 10.1080/14739879.2021.2011626

2021

Journal - Research Article

Nixon, G., Blattner, K., Withington, S., Miller, R., & Stokes, T. (2021). Exploring the response to the Covid-19 pandemic at the rural hospital-base hospital interface: Experiences of New Zealand rural hospital doctors. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1545), 11-21. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Miller, R., Bell, S., TenEyck, L., & Topping, M. (2021). A retrospective observational study of critically unwell patients retrieved from Thames Hospital between April 2018 and December 2020. Journal of Primary Health Care, 13(3), 231-237. doi: 10.1071/hc21058

Blattner, K., Miller, R. M., Lawrence-Lodge, R., Nixon, G., McHugh, P., & Pirini, J. (2021). New Zealand's vocational Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme: The first ten years. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1529), 57-68. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

2020

Journal - Research Article

Lee, S., Miller, R., Lee, M., White, H., & Kerr, A. J. (2020). Outcomes after ST-elevation myocardial infarction presentation to hospitals with or without a routine primary percutaneous coronary intervention service (ANZACS-QA 46). New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1524), 64-81. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Other

Blattner, K., Lawrence-Lodge, R., Miller, R., Nixon, G., McHugh, P., & Pirini, J. (2020). New Zealand's Rural Hospital Medicine training program at 10 years: Locality and career choice of the first graduate cohort [Short report]. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 28, 623-625. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12678

Hansen, S., Liu, S., D'Souza, R., & Miller, R. (2020). Time to surgery for fractured neck of femur in the Waikato District Health Board: Comparison between rural and metropolitan hospitals between 2017 and 2019 [Short report]. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 28, 506-508. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12664

Miller, R., Young, J., Nixon, G., Pickering, J. W., Stokes, T., Turner, R., … Gutenstein, M., … George, P. M., … Than, M. (2020). Study protocol for an observational study to evaluate an accelerated chest pain pathway using point-of-care troponin in New Zealand rural and primary care populations. Journal of Primary Health Care, 12(2), 129-138. doi: 10.1071/HC19059

2019

Journal - Research Article

Miller, R., Stokes, T., & Nixon, G. (2019). Point-of-care troponin use in New Zealand rural hospital: A national survey. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1493), 25-37. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Other

Nixon, G., Blattner, K., Miller, R., Bolden, F., Jelley, G., & Keys, J. (2019). Few New Zealand medical students intend to work in rural areas. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1498), 105-106. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Working Paper; Discussion Paper; Technical Report

Miller, R., Kerr, A., Nixon, G., Grey, C., & Jiang, Y. (2019). Post-ACS all-cause mortality and coronary angiography provision in New Zealand metropolitan and rural hospitals (2014-16) [ANZACS-QI National Dataset Report]. (pp. 1-15). [Technical/Scientific Report].

2018

Journal - Research Other

Miller, R., & Nixon, G. (2018). The assessment of acute chest pain in New Zealand rural hospitals utilising point-of-care troponin. Journal of Primary Health Care, 10(1), 90-92. doi: 10.1071/HC18007

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Miller, R., Twinem, G., Blattner, K., Cane, N., & Nixon, G. (2018). The qualities of a good rural hospital: A NZ 2017 perspective. Proceedings of the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network (NZRGPN) National Rural Health Conference. Retrieved from http://www.nationalruralhealthconference.org.nz/nrhc18

2008

Journal - Research Other

Stevenson, A.-M., Bradshaw, R., Cook, J., Cunningham, R., Riddick, L., Miller, R., Edwards, R., Wilson, N., & Thomson, G. (2008). Majority of smokers and non-smokers in favour of smokefree parks in New Zealand [Letter]. New Zealand Medical Journal, 121(1274). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/121-1274/3083/content.pdf