The Medical Protection New Zealand podcast

It can be difficult to manage our own emotions when the pressure is on at work.   Supervision can be helpful to process our emotions and unpack issues underlying interpersonal work issues.   On this podcast we speak with Dr Bronwyn Campbell, a qualified GP who offers professional supervision for doctors.   She explains what supervision is and discuss which issues are commonly brought to supervisio...

It can be confusing deciding which indemnifier provides the best cover. 85% of doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand choose MPS as their professional indemnity provider.   Listen this podcast to find out why.

It can be confusing as to which indemnifier to choose. Especially when insurance companies are not explicit concerning what they do not cover. Fortunately, Medical Protection is not an insurance product, we are a mutual owned by our members so provide wider cover. A recent start up indemnity insurer has disseminated slanted information about Medical Protection. This podcast sets the record straigh...

Join us as we continue our discussion with Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell. In part two of this series, we explore the new approach to earlier complaint resolution through the Agreed Breach process, the role of Significant Adverse Event reviews in HDC decisions, and how different agencies and regulators interact in the complaints process.

Join us as we discuss key issues with Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell. In part one of this two-part series, we explore current trends in the health system that are affecting care, how the HDC approaches expert opinion, and the growing role of telehealth.

Welcome to two episodes where we discuss the use of social media by clinicians and health providers in NZ. This second episode examines the risks clinicians face when posting publicly on social media, including accuracy and balance requirements under the Medical Council’s advertising statement and the ongoing duty to maintain professional standards online. It outlines how casual comments, criticis...

In part one of this two-part series, we examine how clinicians and health providers in New Zealand use social media, and the medicolegal risks that can arise when seeking clinical advice or discussing workplace issues on platforms that are not secure or private. The episode explores how identifiable patient information may be inadvertently disclosed, how this can lead to breaches of the Health Inf...

This is a new Principle added to the Privacy Act which requires clinicians to notify patients whenever you receive information that has not been collected directly from the patient.  On first glance this looks very onerous.  Stephanie Gregor, Manager – Capability and Guidance at the Privacy Commissioner’s Office joins us to explain how to incorporate this new principle into practice without being...

This episode examines day-of-surgery consent in Aotearoa New Zealand for elective planned surgery, with a focus on recent Health and Disability Commissioner findings highlighting the risks when key information is first provided on the day of an operation. It explores how timing, environment, and communication standards under the Code must support genuine choice, particularly when surgical plans, t...

There are some medications that come up time and again when we consider prescribing errors where serious harm has been done to a patient. The list includes lithium, clozapine, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants, but one other medication that should always make us take extra special care when prescribing, is methotrexate. This podcast considers a case where methotrexate prescribing led to a pat...

In this episode we look at the use of standing orders and the obligations that signing a standing order form creates for the clinician and what steps we have to take to ensure we are fulfilling the requirements of the regulations. 

In modern practice we all frequently work in health care teams where other team members, who do not have prescribing rights, ask us to write scripts for patients they are seeing. Sometimes this is for patients we have seen in the past, but sometimes it may be for a patient we don’t even know. In this podcast we consider the medicolegal risks of prescribing when you yourself are not seeing the pati...

Most doctors provide some form of telehealth since COVID. However as a result of the Government policy and funding of telehealth clinics, along with the rise in the number of narrow purpose clinics (weight loss, cannabis etc) there is increasing use of telehealth services. There are inherent risks for clinicians seeing patients by telehealth.  This episode discusses these risks and how to keep you...

In this first episode of this series we discuss the law change to allow for 12 month prescriptions. We discuss factors to consider when deciding the length of prescriptions you write. We also explore ways to minimise complaints. Although this podcast is focused primarily on Primary Care, the principles are equally applicable to secondary care and does discuss hospital prescribing at patient discha...

A common scenario in Primary Care and in hospital Emergency Departments is when a patient has been assaulted and needs to be assessed.  The police would like a copy of the clinical notes and a statement from you.  This podcast discusses how best to document your assessment to ensure your notes are appropriate for court processes.

It is very common for clinicians to be required to be a witness of fact in a court case, at a Coroner’s inquest or Tribunal hearing. Others are asked to be an expert witness. What’s the difference? If you’ve never done this before, it can be daunting. Listen to this podcast as we explore helpful tips when faced with these unfamiliar roles.  

If you have ever been the subject of a complaint, even a minor one,  you will understand just how difficult they can be to cope with.  In part 3 of this three part series we talk about strategies that may help you to cope with the impact of complaints. 

If you have ever been the subject of a complaint, even a minor one,  you will understand just how difficult they can be to cope with.  In part 2 of this three part series we explore the personal impact on us as clinicians and hear from ‘John’, a clinician who ended up leaving the profession following an HDC complaint. 

If you have ever been the subject of a complaint, even a minor one, you will understand just how difficult they can be to cope with.  If you’ve never had a complaint, statistics would indicate that it’s a matter of when, not if.  Most clinicians experience similar reactions to complaints. In this first of a three part series we explore the personal impact of complaints on us as clinicians. 

The role of Physician Associate (PA) has been added to the growing number of allied healthcare providers in New Zealand. The PA role has been intensely scrutinised in the UK following a number of high profile cases, resulting in a Government Inquiry. We discuss the report findings of the Leng report and its implications for New Zealand as our Medical Council deliberate on how to appropriately regu...

Privacy is nearly always complex and often difficult to understand. To bring clarity to common questions asked about privacy we are privileged to have Stephanie Gregor, the Manager for the Capability and Guidance area of the Privacy Commission come on this series of three podcasts.  We answer interesting questions such as who is a patient’s representative if they die intestate?  When can I withhol...

Privacy is nearly always complex and often difficult to understand.  To bring clarity to common questions asked about privacy we are privileged to have Stephanie Gregor, the Manager for the Capability and Guidance area of the Privacy Commission come on this series of three podcasts.  We answer interesting questions such as who is a patient’s representative if they die intestate?  When can I withho...

Privacy is nearly always complex and often difficult to understand. To bring clarity to common questions asked about privacy we are privileged to have Stephanie Gregor, the Manager for the Capability and Guidance area of the Privacy Commission come on this series of three podcasts.  We answer interesting questions such as who is a patient’s representative if they die intestate?  When can I withhol...

When doctors receive an HDC complaint about our clinical care, and expert opinion is always obtained.  How does the GP expert measure our care?  What are the most common errors GPs make?  We are privileged to interview Dr David Maplesden, HDC in-house GP expert, in this series of 3 podcasts.  Over the series David explains how he approaches the cases, his role and the common pitfalls that GPs make...

When doctors receive an HDC complaint about our clinical care, and expert opinion is always obtained.  How does the GP expert measure our care?  What are the most common errors GPs make?  We are privileged to interview Dr David Maplesden, HDC in-house GP expert, in this series of 3 podcasts.  Over the series David explains how he approaches the cases, his role and the common pitfalls that GPs make...